Angels, Soldiers, Criminals
by SerenBex
Summary: Part 8 of the Evie Song Series... I literally cannot believe I'm on part 8!
1. I Am SO Not a Bimbo

**_Hello lovelies :)_**

**_Disclaimer – I don't own Doctor Who or anything related to it (except a Doctor/Donna poster, the first four series on DVD, an Adipose cuddly toy called Barry and HOPEFULLY a couple more DVDs in the very near future because it's almost my birthday... well, three weeks!). I definitely don't own any of the characters except Evie Song who IS mine._******

**_This story is set during '_**_Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone**'. Also, you don't have to have read **Evie's Diary**, but there might be mention of some of the stuff that happens in it in this. Also, if you haven't read any of the other parts of Evie's story it will probably be a little confusing!**_**_ This fic carries on straight after where '_**_Nightmares**' ended. Like, literally a couple of seconds later. :)**_

**_As usual, all speech that is from the episodes is in italics. I really hope you enjoy this! _**

**_Please leave me some reviews. You know how happy they make me! :D_**

**_Bex x_**

* * *

><p>Evie materialised in the corridor outside the cell she shared with her mother at the Stormcage Facility. River Song had seconds to register the fact that her daughter had just appeared out of thin air in front of her before the corridor was filled by men in camouflage uniforms holding large guns. Every single gun was pointed at her.<p>

"Doctor River Song?" The man at the front of the group asked. "Father Octavian. I believe you were expecting us."

River gave a small laugh. "I was indeed."

"Evie Jessica Song." Evie said, stepping forward and holding out a hand. Both her mother and the cleric looked totally confused. "Doctor Song's daughter. Where exactly are we going then?"

"You aren't going anywhere, young lady. I thought you were staying with Rory and Amy for a while…" She asked, not mentioning the Doctor. Evie guessed this had been a deliberate oversight.

Evie snorted. "As if."

The cleric looked at River before shrugging. "Maybe bringing your daughter along will make you more cooperative, Doctor Song."

"Don't you da–" The woman started, but her daughter smiled and nodded.

"Although, it would probably be best if you DIDN'T mention to the Doctor that I'm her daughter." Evie said with a shrug. The man looked suspicious. "I mean… we wouldn't want to give Mum any excuse not to do as she's told, would we?"

Evie blinked at him innocently and smiled as sweetly as she could. The man narrowed his eyes and glanced between the two women as though trying to work out whether there was some kind of trick being played on him. Apparently the look of total frustration and annoyance on Doctor Song's face was enough to convince him that this wasn't the case. If anything, he thought that perhaps the younger woman being there might keep the infamous archaeologist under control.

"Fine." He said at last.

The girl beamed at him. "Then I'd better introduce myself again. Evie Robinson." She said, thinking quickly and remembering the surname she'd used before the Doctor, Amy and Rory had found out who she was. "Nice to meet you."

The cleric snorted and clicked his fingers. At once two soldiers moved forwards, camouflage uniforms like the ones they were all wearing grasped in their hands. They held the uniforms out and the two women realised that they were supposed to take them. Each pulled a face of disgust as their hands closed around the rough material.

"You'll need these for later." Father Octavian told them. "Before that though, you're going to a cocktail party so dress accordingly. You'll be briefed on the way." He stood, staring at them and the two women stared back.

"If you want us to get changed, you're going to have to leave." River told him firmly, dropping the army uniform onto her bed and folding her arms.

Father Octavian scowled slightly, as though he thought they would do a disappearing act the second his back was turned. Then he nodded curtly, turned and ushered his men further along the corridor to give the women more privacy.

x-x

"When this is all over you are in so much trouble." River hissed at her daughter, keeping the bright smile on her face.

She batted her eyelashes at a passing waiter and relieved him of one of the glasses of champagne on his tray. He grinned cheekily at her, before his gazed flicked to Evie. The younger woman winked and took a glass herself. He looked her up and down appreciatively, before moving away, pressing something into the brunette's hand as he went.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" River snorted as her daughter unfolded the scrap of paper to reveal the waiter's holophone number.

"You're just jealous because he gave me his number and not you." Evie told her, giggling.

"It's not that at all!" River snapped. "Besides, he's not your type."

Evie laughed in disbelief. "Since when has totally hot not been my type?"

"Since you actually wanted to live?" Her mother suggested. She turned to smile at an older man, who looked distinguished in his expensive tuxedo. "OK, focus."

"Me? You're the one who…" Evie started. River shot her a warning look and the girl stopped talking abruptly. "OK, focus."

Nodding quickly, River glanced around to make sure they weren't being watched and slipped through the crowd to the door. Evie followed, taking long strides in her towering heels to keep up. Cautiously they went into the long corridors of the ship and headed quickly towards the lower levels. Once there, the older woman pushed her daughter through a door into a storage room.

"Stay here… I need to check something out." She told her firmly. "I won't be long."

"Why can't I come with you?" Evie demanded, pouting.

River sighed. "I'm literally going to the operations room at the other end of the hall to see what's being transported in the vault. That's it."

Sulkily her daughter nodded and sat down heavily on an upturned bucket. A short while later River reappeared and locked them in. Then they waited for what seemed like hours, until the archaeologist was satisfied that the party would have finished and they wouldn't be interrupted in their task. She slipped out of the room before motioning for Evie to follow. As they walked, she pulled a tiny pistol out of her bag and checked the settings.

"Keep watch." She breathed in a low voice before shooting the lock of a heavy metal door and disappearing inside. A moment later she reappeared, tossed a cylindrical object to her daughter and winked. "For emergencies only."

Evie nodded, knowing better than to argue in a situation like this. Leaning against the cold metal wall of the space ship, she reached into her beaded clutch bag and removed her own gun, checking it quickly just as River had done. She kept the laser blaster at her side, hidden from sight for now.

Waiting for her mother, the young woman fiddled with the hem of her skirt. She was wearing an authentic deep pink 1920's dress and matching high heels. Apparently the occasion warranted such an outfit, although Evie personally thought there was bound to be running involved and, if that was indeed the case, it was completely impractical.

Turning the tube of hallucinogenic lipstick over in her fingers, Evie briefly wondered what her mother considered an emergency situation. She wondered whether she should apply it now, while nothing was happening, in readiness. Then she quickly decided against it, wincing as she remembered what had happened with Jack not long before.

The sound of approaching footsteps, however, quickly changed Evie's mind and she hastily applied the lipstick. Sliding the tube into her bag, she leant against the wall as a figure rounded the twist in the corridor and spotted her at once. Bending one leg, so that her foot was flat against the wall and revealing even more flesh in the process, the young woman batted her eyelashes at the soldier.

"What are you doing down here?" He demanded, coming to a halt in front of her.

Evie tilted her head slowly to one side. He wasn't bad looking, poor guy. Not bothering to answer, she grasped the front of his top and pulled him towards her, planting a rough kiss on his lips. In seconds she felt his body go slack and she released him, pushing him away and watching him stagger backwards into the wall. He stared dazedly in front of him.

"Mum?" Evie called, opening the door and sticking her head inside. "We've got to go!"

"Two minutes!" River called back, making her daughter groan slightly and look around for any sign of the rest of the patrol. It would be just her luck that there were more of them.

Seconds later, River emerged, and nodded to her daughter. They turned and headed along the corridor in silence. The archaeologist made no comment about the soldier standing in the corridor staring blankly in front of him. After a moment or two, Evie couldn't keep quiet any more. The clacking of two pairs of stilettos on the metal floor was doing her head in.

"What were you doing in there, anyway?" She demanded as they rounded a corner. River paused before answering, winking at the security camera cheekily. Evie sighed.

"Sending a message."

"Who to?"

River looked at her sideways as though it was a question that didn't need asking. "Your father."

"_The party's over, Doctor Song._" The distinguished man from earlier said, obviously slightly amused by the fact he thought he had them trapped.

As River and Evie turned away from the escape hatch to face him, they saw that he was flanked by more soldiers with large guns. The soldier on his right flicked his eyes towards Evie, who bit her lip and looked at him under her eyelashes. The older man sighed and turned for a split second to glare at the soldier sternly. River let out an exasperated breath.

"_Yet still you're on board._" He continued as though there had been no annoying interruption.

"_Sorry, Alistair… I needed to see what was in your vault._" River said in a voice that made Evie feel slightly nauseous. She didn't react, however, knowing her mother felt exactly the same about the look she'd given the soldier. "_Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something; this ship won't reach its destination._"

The man stared back stony-faced. "_Wait 'til she runs, then make it look like an execution._" He ordered, glaring at River with a look of pure hatred. Then he glanced at Evie. "The bimbo as well."

River's face hardened at his words. Raising her arm, she looked at her watch. "_Triple 7, 5 slash 349 by 10… zero 12 slash acorn._" She said looking into the security camera and giving her hair a pat. "_Oh, and I could do with an air corridor. Like I said on the dance floor,_" she glanced at Alistair, "_you might want to find something to hang on to._"

A high pitched beeping sounded from the seal of the emergency hatch. The man and his soldiers leapt towards the walls, knowing what was about to happen and clinging on for dear life.

The hatch opened and River blew the men a kiss as the suction of the sudden pressure release dragged her out. Evie felt the force as well and, as she was pulled backwards, she stuck her middle finger up at the man.

"I am so not a bimbo." She snapped, her words hanging in the air of the corridor as she vanished.


	2. Blue Boringers

For once, the Doctor managed to get to the right place at the right time. He threw open the TARDIS doors and held out his hand as River flew gracefully towards him. He caught her, but the force with which the air corridor was propelling her towards the police box made him stumble and they collapsed in a heap on the floor. Evie, not as graceful as her mother, crashed through the doors and landed on top of them with a thud.

"_Doctor?_" Amy asked, folding her arms and staring down at the tangle of people lying on the TARDIS floor.

"Amy!" Evie exclaimed, standing up with a wince and rubbing her wrist which had smashed into the grid-like flooring as she fell.

"Evie?" Amy replied, looking totally confused. "But you were just…"

"_River?_" The Doctor murmured, looking at the woman who was still sprawled on top of him.

She winked, before hauling herself up and turning to look through the open doorway. A spaceship was clearly visible, not to mention audible, heading away from them at speed; its engines roaring as extra fuel was added.

"_Follow that ship!_" She commanded.

At once the Time Lord was on the case, leaping to the console and kicking her into life. River and Evie joined him at the controls, ignoring the annoyed look on his face and moving around each other naturally.

"_They've gone into warp drive!_" River exclaimed, clinging to the scanner as the TARDIS shifted and lurched uncomfortably. Evie stumbled, annoyed at herself for losing her footing and clung on tightly. "_We're losing them! Stay close!_"

"_I'm trying!_" The Doctor snapped, not liking being told what to do.

"They're increasing their speed by four times a minute. We're gonna have to boost the power to keep up." Evie pointed out, looking around the central column expectantly. "Use the stabilisers?"

River nodded. "_Use the stabilisers!_" She ordered.

"_She doesn't have stabilisers!_" The Doctor argued. Evie rolled her eyes at her mother and shook her head, flicking several dials to the right and pulling hard on a large orange lever.

"_The blue switches._" River pointed out agitatedly as they were flung around violently by the motion of the time machine.

"_The blue ones don't do anything, they're just… blue!_"

"Oh, for fu–" Evie started, but a large jolt sent her flying into Amy. One of her shoes, which she'd hung off one of the cables which were attached to the central column detached itself and came straight towards her head. The young woman only just managed to duck in time, before the stiletto heel lodged itself in her head.

"_Yes, they're blue!_" River cried with a sigh, barely able to take her eyes of the controls. "_They're the blue stabilisers!_" She leant over and switched them on, much to the Doctor's annoyance. At once the TARDIS calmed down and they were all able to stand upright without clinging onto the console. "_See._"

"_Yeah…_" The Doctor shrugged, looking even more annoyed that she was right. River padded over to Evie, both of them barefoot, checking that she was alright. The girl rolled her eyes and retrieved her shoe quickly, returning it to the cable. "_Well… it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boringers… they're blue boringers._"

River shook her head and smirked, still using the controls to ensure they were on course to track the spaceship. Evie twirled around, tapping buttons and keeping the levels steady to ensure they wouldn't have the same problem again. Amy leant towards the Doctor so she could whisper in his ear. Apparently she wanted to know how they knew how to fly the time machine.

"_You call THAT flying the TARDIS? HA!_" He exclaimed furiously.

Evie giggled at his anger and carried on what she was doing without even glancing up. The Doctor moved to stand beside her, watching her actions over her shoulder and tutting every now and then to display his displeasure. She turned and fixed him with an irritated glare until he wandered away.

"_OK… I've mapped the probability vectors, done a fold-back on the temporal isometry, charted the ship to its destination and..._" River paused to hit the final button as Evie leant over and lowered the landing lever quickly, "_parked us right alongside._"

"Et voilà!" Evie exclaimed with a grin, folding her arms over her chest and fixing Amy and the Doctor with a satisfied smirk.

"_Parked us?_" The Doctor asked in disbelief. "_We haven't landed._"

"_Of course we've landed. I just landed her._"

"_But… it didn't make the noise…_" The Doctor pointed out in a quieter voice, looking between the three women.

"_What noise?_"

"_You know the…_" He proceeded to do an impression of the wheezing noise that the TARDIS emitted when he attempted to land her. Evie snorted with laughter, unable to help herself.

"_It's not supposed to make that noise._" River told him accusingly. "_YOU leave the breaks on._"

"It's really not healthy for her." Evie chipped in, patting the console and pushing past the Doctor. He looked far from happy at being lectured on his own spaceship by these women.

"_Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise… I love that noise._"

"Such a child…" Evie muttered shaking her head and retrieving her shoes.

The Doctor glared at her. "_Come along, Pond. Let's have a look._"

"_No! Wait, environment checks!_" River shouted quickly, pulling the scanner towards her. Evie moved around to look at the scanner screen as well. Amy shot her a strange look as Evie rested a hand on River's shoulder. The younger woman noticed out of the corner of her eye and quickly removed it.

The Doctor stopped on his way to the door. "_Oh, yes… Sorry! Quite right… environment checks._" Then he turned and opened the doors wide, sticking his head outside. "Nice out."

"_We're somewhere in the Garn belt. There's an atmosphere; early indications suggest that–_" River started.

"_We're on Alfalfa Matraxis._" The Doctor cut in, almost lazily. River stopped and stared at the screen in front of her, clearly reading the words that he had spoken. She looked somewhere between astonished and annoyed. "_The seventh planet of the Dundra System; oxygen rich atmosphere, all toxins in the soft band, eleven hour day and… chances of rain later._"

The three women at the console turned to stare at him. Amy looked confused, River looked put out and Evie was doing her best to control her features and not show that she was impressed. The Doctor didn't need his ego inflated any more than it already was.

"_He thinks he's so hot when he does that._" River told Amy in a low voice.

The red-head laughed softly. "_How come you can fly the TARDIS?_"

"_Oh… I had lessons from the very best._" The woman said, looking meaningfully at her. Evie raised an eyebrow, moving slowly around the console and trailing her hand over the controls. She had put her shoes back on and her heels clicked softly on the floor beneath her feet.

The Doctor looked pleased with himself. "_Well… yeah._"

"_It's a shame you were busy that day!_" River called over her shoulder, causing the Doctor to pull a face and look slightly abashed.

"And you!" Amy pounced on Evie, folding her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow. "You were standing next to me one minute and then you were flying through those doors!"

"Eh?" Evie looked confused.

Amy sighed. "Where did you disappear off to after that whole shooting the other you business? All the Doctor told me was that you'd had a message and had to leave. That was about two months ago."

The brunette smirked. "Things to do, people to see."

"Seriously, Evie. Where've you been?" Amy pressed, looking genuinely concerned. Her eyes flicked to River, before returning to her friend. Evie glanced down. "Who's that?"

"You know… here and there." She replied evasively, not commenting on the second question Amy had asked.

Sensing that the conversation was about to get difficult, River cut in. "_Right… why did they land here?_" She headed towards the doors, her bag in one hand and her shoes clutched in the other. The Doctor followed, leaving the two younger women to bring up the rear.

"_They didn't land._" He said, almost smugly.

"_Sorry?_"

"_You should've checked the Home Box._" The Doctor told her, almost imperially, finally feeling as though he were back in control of the situation. "_It crashed._"

River and Evie exited the TARDIS first. The younger woman's mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted her eyes. River gasped slightly, but then caught herself and pulled out her hand-held computer, taking readings from the massive scene of devastation that stretched out in front of them. The Doctor had been right; the spaceship had definitely crashed, apparently into some kind of building cut from the rock itself.

The sound of the TARDIS doors slamming shut as they stood in silence made them jump. Evie turned to see if the Doctor and Amy were behind them and saw no one. She sighed, but turned back to face the rubble that stretched away into the distance. Flames were licking around the ruined ship and billows of acrid black smoked poured from it.

The parts of their bodies that were facing the wreckage were hot, the heat from the flames keeping them warm. Their backs, however, were freezing; the wind that whipped at their hair and dresses chilling them to the bone. It was an odd sensation.


	3. This is the Doctor

"_What caused it to crash?_" River asked, almost thinking aloud, as the Doctor and Amy eventually joined them. "_Not me._"

"_Nah…_" The Time Lord agreed. "_The air lock would have sealed seconds after you blew it, according to the Home Box the warp engines had a phase-shift… no survivors._"

"_A phase-shift would have to be sabotage._" River pointed out, expressing her daughter's thoughts before the brunette could open her mouth. "_I did warn them._"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "_About what?_"

River dodged the question. "_At least the building was empty. Aplan Temple… unoccupied for centuries._"

The Doctor moved away, still suspicious. Evie plucked the device from her mother's hands and looked at it carefully. A detailed outline of the inside of the Temple was clearly displayed on the screen, lines tracing the points where damage had occurred from the impact. Graphs along the right edge displayed the shifting levels of the atmosphere. The changes were so slight that they would have been undetectable with lesser technology.

"_Aren't you going to introduce us?_" Amy asked.

Evie smirked slightly and focused her attention on the readings. The idea of her father introducing Amy to her own daughter was too amusing to the girl. River, however, kept her face impassive, although she did prise the computer out of her daughter's hands and start pressing buttons quickly, re-calibrating the scanners.

"_Amy Pond, Professor River Song._" The Doctor said quickly. River glanced at her daughter, who arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Then she turned to face the other two, gasping. "_Oh! I'm going to be a Professor someday, am I? How exciting!_" She chucked happily. "_Spoilers!_"

"_Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that?_" Amy whispered to the Doctor. "_She just left you a note in a museum._"

"_Two things always guaranteed to turn up in a museum; the Home Box of a category four starliner and, sooner or later, him._" River said in amusement, turning to face her mother with a smug smile. "_It's how he keeps score!_"

Amy laughed and moved forwards to stand beside the older woman. "_I know!_"

"_It's hilarious, isn't it?_"

The Doctor chuckled sarcastically, moving between River and Amy and pointing his finger at the archaeologist. "_I'm nobody's taxi service; I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time you feel like… like jumping out of a spaceship._"

"_And you are so wrong._" River told him firmly.

Evie grinned. "So, SO wrong!"

"What are you doing here, Evie?" The Doctor demanded suspiciously, rounding on the brunette. "What are you doing with her?"

"It's a long story." She told him, clearly not intending to go into it now. "A very long story. We were sort of… thrown together. But we've got bigger fish to fry at the moment, Doctor. River… what's that?"

The device in River's hands had captured her attention and she turned away from the Doctor, who appeared to be sulking.

"_There's one survivor… there's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die._" River told him ominously. The Time Lord stopped walking away and turned to look at her, curiously. River smiled. "_Now he's listening._"

"Of course he is." Evie agreed, rolling her eyes as River walked forwards, speaking into her device.

"_You lot in orbit yet?_" She asked, apparently speaking to Father Octavian. "_Yeah, I saw it land… I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal._" She stopped and held the device up, calling to the Doctor. "_Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon._"

He did as she asked and River dropped into a curtsey by way of a thank you. The Doctor didn't look happy, knowing that she had got the better of him. His companion grinned, leaning in towards him.

"_Ooh, Doctor! You soniced her!_" Amy said in a flirtatious voice. Evie giggled and started picking her way across the uneven floor after her mother.

"_We have a minute._" River called across the space as Evie reached her. "_Shall we?_"

Even from the distance she was away from the Doctor, Evie saw him roll his eyes at her mother's words. Amy grinned and tugged on his arm slightly, forcing him to walk over to the woman. River pulled out her diary and flicked through it. She glanced at the Time Lord carefully, scrutinising him for a clue.

"_Where are we up to?_" She mused aloud, turning several pages at once. "_Have we done the Bone Meadows?_"

Amy glanced interestedly at the diary, moving closer. "_What's the book?_"

"_Stay away from it!_" The Doctor ordered, making both Evie and Amy jump. The red-head almost frowned at him.

"_What is it, though?_"

"_Her diary._"

"_Our diary._" River said, stressing the word 'our'. Evie looked away, shielding her eyes with her hand and staring up at the wreckage. She'd heard this argument enough times not to be interested in it anymore.

"_Her past, my… future._" He spat the last word out as though it tasted disgusting on his tongue. Evie hid a small smile, thinking about how much he had to learn; how much they both had to learn. "_Time travel… we keep meeting in the wrong order._"

Before anything else could be said, four swirling pillars of dust and wind appeared, growing stronger until they died away completely, leaving four cleric soldiers in their place. The one at the front was instantly recognisable as Father Octavian. He moved forwards, heading straight for his two charges.

"_You promised me an army, Doctor Song._" He said with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

River smirked back. "_No, I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor._"

Octavian's eyes swivelled to face the Time Lord, his mouth dropping open slightly as he realised who he was looking at. The Doctor glanced quickly at River and Evie, his eyes narrowing slightly. The younger woman guessed that it was the mention of an army that had caused the reaction. He pulled a face and gave the cleric a salute.

"_Father Octavian, sir._" The cleric said, holding out his hand for the Doctor to shake. "_Bishop, second class; twenty Clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song_ and Miss Robinson _were helping us with a covert investigation._" There was a long pause as they all stared up at the still burning ship. "_Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?_"

River turned to face the Time Lord quickly. "_Doctor… what do you know of the Weeping Angels?_"

His eyes flicked to her quickly, his head turning so fast that Evie thought his neck could have snapped. His face was impassive, but his eyes flashed dangerously at the mention of the creatures. Evie shuddered as well. Until now, her mother hadn't said what kind of creature they were dealing with; maybe because she knew how horrific the Weeping Angels were. They were the creatures that nightmares were made of.

"Right, Doctor Song, Miss Robinson…" Father Octavian said, suddenly business-like. "Follow me please; you need to get changed into your uniforms before anything else."

The women followed as he began barking orders to his men. Within minutes there were tens more cleric soldiers milling around building a make-shift base camp at the base of the cliff that the Aplan Temple was carved into.

Evie pulled at the collar of her rough, camouflage shirt. It was made of a horrible, scratchy material and itched her neck terribly. River rolled her eyes and told her to stop fussing as she headed out of the small trailer where they'd been sent to get changed.

"Undo the buttons if it's that bad." She muttered. Evie did as she said, unbuttoning her shirt as much as she could before it became unreasonable. River sighed. "Not that much…"

"What?" Evie demanded, looking down at her shirt. She was wearing a strappy top underneath, so she didn't see that it mattered that almost all the buttons were undone. Aside from that, Evie had rolled up the sleeves and was refusing to wear the helmet that the Bishop had thrust at her.

"Father Octavian isn't going to like the 'improvements' you've made to his little uniform." River said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, he's not the boss of me." The young woman snapped, folding her arms. Her mother laughed and put an arm around Evie's waist.

"Come on… let's go and see what trouble your father and my mother are getting themselves into."


	4. The Ultimate Defence Mechanism

"Call your father." River said, glancing up from the video footage she was pouring over in the small hut they'd found themselves pushed into after reporting to Father Octavian.

Evie looked up from the device she was examining and frowned. "Call him yourself."

Sighing, the woman moved to the door, giving her daughter a swift smack around the head as she went. Evie growled softly and rubbed at the spot River's hand had connected with, before sweeping up her dark curls into a messy ponytail.

"_Doctor!_" River called, leaning through the doorway and waving to attract his attention. "_Doctor!_ _Father Octavian?_"

The two men and Amy headed swiftly towards her and River ducked back inside. She turned on the CCTV images of a Weeping Angel they'd taken from the wreckage and the five of them watched the screen in silence for a few moments. It was on a loop, going round and round, showing them the same few seconds over and over again.

"_What do you think?_" River asked, breaking the silence. "_It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board._" Evie guessed that was what her mother had been doing when she left her in the storage cupboard. "_Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds, I put it on loop._"

"_Yep, it's an Angel._" The Doctor confirmed, getting close to the screen and looking closely. "_Hands covering its face._"

"_You've encountered the Angels before?_" Father Octavian asked, sounding calm. Evie shot him a glance and realised that his body language was giving him away; the slight tremor of his hand on his gun and the flickering of his eyes as he tried to keep his gaze steady on the Doctor.

"_Oh, once on Earth…_" The Doctor agreed casually, "_a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving._"

"_But it's just a statue._" Amy pointed out, obviously wondering what all the fuss was about.

"_It's a statue when you see it._" River told her.

"When you're not looking," Evie continued, "it's not."

Amy looked confused, but the Doctor cut across her. "_Where did it come from?_"

"_Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time._" River told him quickly.

"_There's a difference between dormant and patient._" The Doctor said ominously.

"_What's that mean; it's a statue when you see it?_" Amy asked.

River turned to look at her, fixing the red-head with a serious stare. "_The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen… so legend has it._"

"Legends have a habit of coming true." Evie said with a shrug. "Especially the ones filled with doom and gloom."

"_No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock._" The Doctor said, obviously trying to reassure them. The fact that he managed to rip one of the hanging handles down as he spoke had the opposite effect. Evie sighed sharply and shook her head, while River just looked mildly exasperated; rolling her eyes and clenching her teeth. The Doctor blushed faintly, before pretending it hadn't happened and continuing. "_In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone; the ultimate defence mechanism._"

"_What, being a stone?_" Amy asked, not convinced.

"_Being a stone…_" He repeated quietly, leaning his ear against the monitor. "_Until you turn your back._" The Doctor smiled, before leaping into action. "Father Octavian, how many men do you have? Can I see these plans of the maze you mentioned?"

"Yes, sir." The Bishop agreed readily. "Doctor Song, Miss Robinson, with me."

"Evie, stay here." River commanded, overriding the cleric's orders. Evie nodded. "I need you to keep an eye on… things; that video in particular. If anything changes, let me know."

The young woman knew that her mother meant for her to keep an eye on Amy and nodded, much to Father Octavian's annoyance. But he didn't force the issue; Evie wasn't his prisoner. As long as he kept an eye on Doctor Song then he was doing his duty. He didn't have the time or resources to look after any civilian willing to endanger themselves.

Amy and Evie moved to the doorway as Octavian, River and the Doctor moved outside. The Doctor was talking, apparently taking command. Moments later, River headed off in the other direction, calling to him over her shoulder.

"_Sweetie, I need you!_" There was a hesitation as the Doctor digested her words, before turning and following her.

"_Anybody need me? Nobody?_" Amy called, receiving no answer. Evie grinned and pulled her back into the hut so she could do as her mother had ordered and keep an eye on the image of the Angel.

"Relax." The brunette said, leaning against one of the tall metal cabinets that lined the walls and crossing her arms. "Let them do the complicated, boring planning bits and we'll join in with the exciting adventurey bits later!"

Amy laughed and shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye something caught her attention and she turned to look properly. On the screen, the Angel who had been standing with its back to them had turned slightly; almost as through it was mid-way through around. She took a couple of steps closer before Evie realised what she was looking at.

The loop was still playing, the clip moving between 24 and 28 seconds before skipping back to the beginning. Evie frowned, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She wasn't sure what to do. On one hand she knew she had to keep an eye on the Angel but on the other she had no idea what was going on; it was just a picture on a screen. How could it have moved?

"_Doctor Song?_" Amy shouted, making Evie jump. She moved to the door and poked her head outside. "_Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?_"

River shook her head. "_No, just the four seconds._"

Evie shrugged at the red-head as she re-entered the hut. Together, they turned back to the image on the screen. Evie swore loudly. The Angel was now facing them full-on, its arms by its sides, but its palms were turned towards them.

For a while both women stared at the monitor before Evie's eyes flicked down to check the time on the loop. It was still moving between 24 and 28, before going back to the start. She looked back at the Angel and, with a gasp, realised that it had moved again.

It was closer to the screen now. The brunette guessed that Amy had glanced away at the same time as her. It didn't make any sense; it was just a video. How could the Angel be moving? Making up her mind, the young woman backed slowly towards the door, hovering in the doorway.

"Keep your eyes on it, Ames." Evie ordered, leaning outside slightly unsteadily. "River? You better get in here, now!"

Suddenly, as though an unseen hand was pushing her, Evie fell out of the hut. She landed on her front on the wooden pallets that had been placed carefully as a makeshift path over the muddy ground. Springing immediately to her feet, the girl banged on the door which had been shut and locked.

"_Doctor?_" She heard Amy call from inside. Then she heard the sound of the red-head trying to open the door. "_Doctor?_"

Pulling more anxiously on the metal door, Evie banged several times, as though she thought that would help. "Amy… don't blink! Whatever you do, keep your eyes on the Angel!"

"It moved again, Evie… twice! I can see its teeth and its claws… it's trying to get me!"

"Don't take your eyes off it!" Evie ordered in a panicked tone. She started fiddling with the keypad lock, trying to reverse the mechanism so that she could open the door. Nothing seemed to be working. "RIVER! DOCTOR!"

"_DOCTOR! It's in the room!_" Amy screamed in terror. Evie scrabbled at the lock mechanism desperately. "Evie… it's in here! It's got out of the screen! Help me!"

"Keep watching it! Amy, just don't blink! RIVER! Come on…" She banged at the door with her fist. "DOCTOR!"


	5. The Windows of the Soul

The Doctor finally seemed to get Evie's message that something was wrong. He sprinted towards the hut and pushed her aside roughly, laying his hands and face against the metal door. Evie hovered beside him, chewing the skin around her fingernails, horrified.

"_Are you alright? What's happening?_" He demanded.

"_Doctor?_" Amy shouted from inside. "_Doctor, it's coming out of the television. The Angel is here._"

"_Don't take your eyes off it!_" He ordered, scanning the keypad Evie had just been attempting to break into with his screwdriver. "_Keep looking, it can't move if you're looking._"

"What happened?" River hissed in her daughter's ear as the Doctor attempted to get the door open. "I told you to keep an eye on her!"

"I was!" Evie snapped in annoyance. "We realised that the Angel was moving, so I leant through the door to tell you and dad, but then something… I dunno… something pushed me out and locked the door."

Her mother looked cynical. "Really?"

"Yes! I tried to break the code and unlock the door, but I think it's been deadlocked."

"There is no deadlock." River said and shot her a look, before moving forwards. "_What's wrong?_"

"_Deadlocked._" The Doctor confirmed. If Evie hadn't been so worried about her grandmother, she would definitely have shot her mother an I-told-you-so smirk. As it was, she barely registered the fact that she'd been correct in her assessment.

"_There is no deadlock._" River repeated, trying to override the system.

The Doctor was rushing around madly, pulling things apart. "_Don't blink, Amy, don't even blink!_"

"_Doctor!_"

"_What are you doing?_" River demanded, glancing sideways at the Time Lord.

"_Err… cutting the power. It's using the screen, I'm turning it off._"

"That won't work!" Evie cried. "I couldn't even turn the television off!"

The Doctor looked at her, but tried anyway. Then he stepped backwards. "_It's no good, it's deadlocked the whole system._"

"_There is no deadlock!_" River repeated for the third time; worry, anger and frustration mixing together and causing her tone to become dark and dangerous.

"_There is now!_" The Doctor argued.

"_Help me!_" Amy screamed from inside.

"_Can you turn it off?_"

"_Doctor!_"

"_The screen, can you turn it off?_"

"_I tried…_"

"_Try again._" He ordered. "_But don't take your eyes off the Angel._"

"_I'm not!_"

River was still trying to override the controls, while the Doctor ran about trying to work out what to do. Evie had disappeared for a few seconds, returning with one of the Clerics' oversized guns.

"What are you going to do with that?" Her mother demanded in exasperation, trying to burn her way through the door with a blowtorch.

"I dunno!" The girl shrugged. "Blow a hole in the door? More effective than that thing you've got, anyway."

As the Doctor passed, he snatched the weapon out of Evie's arms and threw it aside. "No guns!" He ordered. Then he stopped. "_Each time it moves, it'll move faster. Don't even blink!_"

"_I'm not blinking! Have you ever tried not blinking?_" There was a long silence, before Amy spoke again. "_It just keeps switching back on!_"

"_Yeah, it's the Angel._"

"_But it's just a recording._" Amy's voice was weaker now. Evie started pacing, wracking her brains. She felt helpless. It was not a feeling she was used to.

"_No, anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel._" The Doctor told her, ripping the wires out of the panel he'd wrenched open, before putting them back in a different order. He caught sight of River and pulled a face. "_What are you doing?_"

"_I'm trying to cut through… it's not even warm._"

The Doctor looked exasperated. "Her and the gun, you and the blowtorch… _there is no way in! It's not physically possible!_"

"So what?" Evie demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously. "We just give in?"

Her father looked at her. He was about to say something, when Amy almost whispered from inside, distracting them.

"_Doctor? What's it gonna do to me?_"

The terror in her voice filled all three of them with renewed determination. "_Just keep looking at it… don't stop looking!_"

"_Just tell me._" She pleaded. "_Tell me!_"

"Amy, you're gonna be fine, OK?" Evie promised her as calmly as she could, watching the Doctor sprinting back towards them with a book clutched tightly in his hands. Evie glanced at River, wondering whether he'd gone mad.

He flicked quickly through the book, before snapping it shut. "_Amy, not the eyes. Look anywhere, but don't look at the eyes._"

"_Why?_"

"_What is it?_" River demanded.

The Doctor had the book open again. "_'The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors. Beware what may enter there.'_" He read aloud. Evie's breath caught in her throat as she quickly deciphered the meaning, combining it with snapshots of information she retrieved from her memory.

"_Doctor, what did you say?_" Amy asked.

"_Don't look at the eyes!_"

"_No, about images?_" Amy said. "_What did you say about images?_"

River scrambled to the door. "_Whatever holds the image of an Angel is an Angel._"

There was silence. Evie was on tenterhooks, pacing backwards and forwards on the wooden pallets for want of anything better or more constructive to do. She chewed her nail, nervously.

Suddenly there was a loud clunking sound and the door sprang open. The Doctor leapt inside, River and Evie hot on his heels. They were so eager to get inside, that the two women almost crashed into the Doctor as they came to an abrupt halt.

"_I froze it!_" Amy said in astonishment as the Angel flickered and vanished. The television screen was black and dead. "_There was a sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an Angel anymore._" The Doctor pulled the power cable out of the monitor and soniced it with the screwdriver, ensuring that there was no way the Angel was coming back. Amy sighed with relief. "_That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good!_"

"_That was amazing!_" River told her, obviously impressed.

Evie beamed. "Bloody brilliant!"

"_River, hug Amy._" The Doctor ordered, barely turning around. "Or Evie, I don't mind who."

"_Why?_" Amy asked, looking a little concerned.

"_Because I'm busy._"

"_I'm fine!_" The red-head complained.

River and Evie both moved towards her. "_You're brilliant!_" River told her firmly, gripping her upper arms and glaring at the Doctor. He pulled a face and went back to his task.

"Totally fantastic." Evie agreed with a nod, squeezing Amy's hand.

"_Thanks!_" She smiled at them both, before shooting the Doctor an indignant look. "_Yeah, kinda creamed it, didn't I?_"

"_So it was here?_" River asked, before a full-scale argument could break out. "_That was the Angel?_"

The Doctor tucked the sonic screwdriver back into his jacket pocket and looked around seriously. "_That was a projection of the Angel. It's reaching out, getting a good look at us._" He lowered his voice and his tone. "_It's no longer dormant._"

Outside there was a massive explosion. The four of them exchanged a mixture of wary and bewildered looks, before rushing through the door to see what had happened. Evie caught Amy's hand as she went, squeezing it reassuringly and pulling the red-head with her. Father Octavian approached them swiftly, removing a pair of safety goggles.

"_Doctor?_" He called. "_We're through._"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Guys! Thank you so so much for all your reviews, subscribing, etc! Also, all you 'lurkers' (I really don't like that term because it sounds like you're creepy or something – which I'm sure you're not – but I can't think of another way of saying it at the moment!) thank you as well! :D**_

_**Also, I would like to send a MASSIVE thank you to the completely lovely **__NaviRebel16__**, aka **__JuniorFanficCritic__** on YouTube, who has done a review of my Evie fics! If you want to see it then you should deffo go check out her YouTube page. I've gotta say the 'Sweetie Counter' was lower than I'd expected though! :P**_


	6. Maze of the Dead

"_Coming?_" River asked, moving to the door and following the Doctor. Evie glanced over her shoulder at Amy, who seemed to be rubbing her eyes.

"_Yeah, coming._" The red-head agreed. "_There's just… something in my eye…_"

"Blinking usually gets rid of dust or whatever." The younger girl suggested, waiting for her to leave. After the whole incident with the Angel, Evie felt incredibly guilty and had made up her mind to keep an eye on her grandmother at all times.

"Slightly ironic, don't you think?" Amy asked, her slight Scottish lilt sounding more obvious in her amusement.

Evie laughed. "Fair point… come on, before they leave us behind."

Making their way quickly to the growing huddle of people, Evie stayed close to Amy, earning herself an approving nod from her mother and a curious look from both the Doctor and Father Octavian. The latter was briefing his troops on the situation and what to expect. As they began to disperse, readying themselves for the descent into the catacombs, the Bishop grasped River and Evie by their arms and pulled them away from the rest of the group.

"Best behaviour." He warned them in a growl. "Remember what's at stake."

Evie shot her mother a questioning glance, but River just glared at the Bishop and snatched her arm out of his grip. "Don't worry, I know."

He nodded stiffly, before practically frogmarching them towards the small hole that had been created during the explosion. A ladder made from two lengths of thin, but strong, wire and wooden pegs strung between them dangled down into the darkness. Nervously they descended.

The catacombs below were cold and damp and dark. Evie gave an involuntary shiver as she looked around, flashing her torch into the dark recesses of the rock. She was almost loathed to do the buttons of her scratchy shirt back up, but it was so chilly she had no choice. Reluctantly she fastened a couple, leaving enough undone to make her mother sigh exasperatedly.

"_Do we have a gravity globe?_" The Doctor asked as River dropped the last foot or so to the ground. She smiled quickly at her daughter, before moving away to examine the space closely.

"_Grav globe._" Octavian ordered. One of the Clerics scrabbled in his bag and pulled out the device, quickly handing it over to the Doctor with a polite bow of his head. Evie caught his eye and arched an eyebrow, making the Time Lord scowl.

"_Where are we?_" Amy asked, moving her torchlight erratically around, making the shadows dance. "_What is this?_"

"_It's an Aplan Mortarium. Sometimes called a maze of the dead._" River told her, her voice low and ominous. Evie was a little startled; she'd rarely heard her mother sound so nervous of being somewhere before. Then she considered the surroundings with a slight shudder.

"_What's that?_"

Evie sent Amy a small smile. "Two guesses?"

"_Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone…_" The Doctor said, activating the gravity globe and kicking it high into the catacombs. It sent a bright light over everything, illuminating the carved rock face and revealing hundreds and hundreds of stone statues. They seemed to be standing in every available space. Once again, Evie shuddered. "_Perfect hiding place._"

It was beautiful; there was no denying it. Even Evie, who had no time for ruins and artefacts and all the old and broken things her mother gushed about relentlessly, had to admit that the Mortarium was breath-taking. They stood in stunned silence, taking it all in.

"_Well I guess this makes it a bit trickier._" Father Octavian said, his face falling slightly as he took in the vast numbers of stone statues around them.

The Doctor chuckled. "_A bit, yeah._"

"_A stone Angel on the loose among stone statues… a lot harder than I prayed for._"

"_Needle in a haystack._" River murmured, staring up at the rows of winding paths cut into the rock above them.

Evie forced a small smirk. "Just your style, River."

"_A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of... err… statues._" The Doctor babbled. He took a breath and tugged on the bottom of his tweed jacket, before shrugging and glancing at the archaeologist. "_No, yours was fine._"

River looked at him incredulously for a moment, before shaking her head slightly and sighing. Then she turned her attention back to the ruins, sweeping the beam of her torch over the rock carefully. Evie took several steps forwards, before feeling a rock-like arm bash her in the chest, holding her back.

"Sorry, Miss." One of the cleric soldiers said apologetically. "But Father Octavian said we were to see you stayed close."

Evie glowered at him, before shooting a similar look at the Bishop. He merely shrugged and began to give orders. "_Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question; how do we fight it?_"

"_We find it._" The Doctor answered simply. "_And hope._"

Amy shot Evie a slightly suspicious glance and then followed the Time Lord. The brunette moved towards her mother, still annoyed at the cleric's words. Before she had a chance to open her mouth and complain, Father Octavian approached, gripping River's arm once more. His eyes flickered between his prisoners.

"_He doesn't know yet, does he? Who and what you are._"

"_It's too early in his time stream._" River said weakly, gulping slightly as the Doctor glanced back and spotted them.

Father Octavian glanced down at her, stony-faced. "_Well make sure he doesn't work it out, or he's not going to help us._"

"_I won't let you down._" River said. "_Believe you me; I have no intention of going back to prison._"

"What?" Evie asked, much louder than she'd intended. Her voice echoed around the cavern, catching the attention of almost everyone else.

"Shh!" River snapped. Father Octavian glanced down at her and smirked. "Later, Evie."

The woman grabbed her daughter by the wrist and dragged her away from the Bishop, towards Amy and the Doctor. Octavian looked as though he intended to follow, but one of his men spoke, drawing his attention away from them. His eyes, however, only briefly left the retreating figures, before snapping back to observe them closely once more.

"Mum… what did you mean?" Evie demanded in a hushed voice as they got closer to the others.

"I said later, Evie." River shushed her again. The young woman made an annoyed hissing sound in her throat but didn't argue.

There was an odd noise echoing through the tunnels. Evie knew that it was just water dripping onto the ground from the walls and statues, but it sounded unearthly in the large open spaces. She shivered as a fat droplet of freezing water landed on the back of her neck, sliding down inside her shirt. It was all she could do not to scream.

"Unlucky, Miss." One of the Clerics said. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her, grinning.

"Ta." Evie said, almost reluctantly, taking it from him and wiping the back of her neck. She glanced over to where her mother and Amy were talking, their torches shining upwards. "So… you're a soldier, hey? And I'm your prisoner."

He laughed. "It would seem so. Although, they haven't told us what you've done; just that we have to keep a special eye on you both because you're tricky."

"Really?" Evie giggled delightedly. "Brilliant!"

"So? Why are you in Stormcage? You're Doctor Song's cellmate, aren't you?" The soldier asked, leaning against the rock wall and tilting his head to one side.

Evie arched an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest. "What are you, my biographer?" Then she grinned. "Yeah, River and I… well… she looks out for me. Although, she's also got me into a few scrapes as well. Ever heard of the Fraxon Cystal?"

"Yeah! Didn't it go missing and turn up at the Maldovarium…" He stopped, staring at her self-satisfied smirk. "No way! Was that you?"

"No comment." The girl said with a shrug. "I'm not likely to admit it to a cleric, now am I?"

He was about to reply, when the sound of River's voice made the girl roll her eyes. "Evie! Hurry up."

She grinned cheekily at the man and shot him a wink. "Catch you later, soldier boy."

"It's Bob." He said as she sauntered away, wiggling her hips more than was necessary. "My name is Bob."


	7. I'm Supposed to be a Hardened Criminal

"… _it's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls._" River was telling Amy as the brunette approached quickly. Amy shot the older woman a disturbed glance and River winced. "_OK, that was fairly bad. Right… give me your arm._" She pushed the red-head's sleeve out of the way and pulled out a syringe. There was no needle attached to it though as the archaeologist activated it the object made a curious hissing sound. "_This won't hurt a bit._"

As River injected the liquid into Amy's arm, the young woman cried out in pain. "_Oww!"_

"_There you see; I lied._" River told her with no trace of remorse.

"She does that." Evie agreed with a shrug, pushing her hands into her pockets.

River smiled. "Shhh, you! Your turn next."

Evie groaned. "River… What is it?"

"_It's a viro-stabiliser; stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship._" She explained, finishing Amy's injection and retrieving a second syringe from her pocket. Without giving the young woman a chance to react, River grasped Evie's forearm and plunged the injection into her arm.

"Son of a –" Evie gasped. "River!"

The archaeologist merely chuckled.

"_So what's he like? In the future, I mean. 'Cos you know him in the future, don't you?_" Amy asked the women. Exchanging a quick look with her mother, Evie shrugged nonchalantly.

"The Doctor?" River asked, although it was obvious who they were talking about. "_Well, the Doctor's the Doctor._"

"_Oh, well that's very helpful. Mind if I write that down?_" Amy asked sarcastically. Evie grinned, and looked down in an attempt to hide it. River rubbed the spot on her daughter's arm where she'd just injected the viro-stabiliser and turned on her torch, aiming it at the Doctor.

"_Yes we are._" She called.

He pretended not to know what she meant, suddenly incredibly interested in her hand-held device which he'd borrowed. "_Sorry? What?_"

"_Talking about you._" River continued, not in the least bit fooled.

"_I wasn't listening. I'm busy._"

River nodded slowly, smirking. "_Ahh… the other way up._"

He held the device slightly further away from him, looked at it carefully and then slowly rotated it so that it was facing the right way. Then the Doctor glanced at them, slightly embarrassed. "_Oh yeah…_"

River raised her eyebrows at the two younger women in amusement and Evie snorted with laughter.

"_You're so his wife._" Amy muttered, glancing at River, who barely blinked at her assumption. Evie, on the other hand, had to work hard to keep her face impassive, feeling a knot tighten in her stomach.

"_Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy… this is the Doctor we're talking about. D'you really think it could be anything that simple?_"

"_Yep._" The red-head said calmly, grinning at her.

"_You're good._" River said blandly a moment later, swinging the beam of her torch upwards and carefully looking at the stone statue it landed on. "_I'm not saying you're right. But you are very good._"

Amy giggled, obviously assuming that she was right, before turning her gaze on Evie. "Well? Any opinions?"

"How should I know?" The brunette shrugged. "Ask her, not me!"

Moving away, possibly to harass the Doctor on the matter, Amy left River and Evie alone. The younger woman tilted her head to one side, following her mother's gaze and looking at the row of statues high above them.

"That was close." She muttered. "You must give off some kind of Hello-I'm-the-Doctor's-wife vibe."

River laughed and shook her head. "And we found out where your sarcasm comes from."

"As if there was any doubt!" Her daughter replied with a laugh.

They moved towards the others once more, sending their torch beams into the dark corners and crevices around them. Evie shrieked as the light landed awkwardly, casting an odd shadow and tricking her mind into thinking something had moved. She was a little shaken but pulled herself together quickly, just in time to hear the crack of gunfire coming from the direction they'd come.

Sprinting back along the tunnels, they rounded a corner and arrived back in the chamber. Bob was standing on his own, his gun raised. He dropped it immediately as the others appeared in front of him.

"_Sorry, sorry…_" He apologised quickly. "_I thought… I thought it looked at me._ _And then I heard a scream…_"

"Yeah, sorry… my fault." Evie told him with a wince.

"_We know what the Angel looks like._" Father Octavian snapped at his soldier. "_Is that the Angel?_"

"_No, sir._" Bob muttered, ruefully. Evie felt sorry for him and glared at the Bishop who was standing over him threateningly.

"_No, sir, it is not. According to the Doctor we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil, so it would be good… it would be very good… if we could all remain calm in the presence of décor._" Octavian said angrily.

"Oi, leave off." Evie snapped. "It was my fault for screaming."

"_What's your name?_" The Doctor asked, nodding at her slightly, before looking back at Bob.

"_Bob, sir._"

"_Oh! That's a great name!_" He replied enthusiastically. "_I love Bob!_"

"_It's a sacred name._" Octavian informed him. "_We all have sacred names. They're given to us in the service of the Church._"

"_Sacred Bob._" The Doctor said, moving to stand close to the two Clerics. "_More like scared Bob now, eh?_"

Evie's attempts at hearing more of the conversation were greatly impaired by River and Amy, who started chattering beside her. With a sigh, the young woman gave up. She ran her hand lightly over the statue, not sure why it made her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was the atmosphere in the catacombs, or maybe it was just because she knew there was a Weeping Angel on the loose.

"_We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes._" Father Octavian said loudly. He turned to Bob and Evie pricked up her ears to hear his words. "_You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach._"

As the Bishop moved away, Evie walked over to the soldier. He looked scared now. She smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't mind grumpy pants." She joked, nodding her head towards Father Octavian. "I'm bloody terrified and I'm supposed to be a hardened criminal!"

"You don't seem hardened to me." Bob said with a smile. "You seem sweet. And thanks for sticking up for me… not that it will do much good."

Evie shrugged and looked over her shoulder. River beckoned her, indicating that they were about to leave. "I better go… see you later."

x-x

"_Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse?_" Amy asked as they made their way through the tunnels of the maze. The Doctor was leading the way, River and Amy behind him and Evie bringing up the rear. "_There's a whole ship up there._"

"_Incredible builders, the Aplans._" River said excitedly. Evie rolled her eyes knowing that her mother was about to start babbling about history and other such things. The brunette knew nothing about the species and didn't much care.

"_Had dinner with their chief architect once._" The Doctor announced, preventing her from continuing. "_Two heads are better than one._"

"_What, you mean you helped him?_" Amy asked, sounding incredulous.

"_Err… no. I mean he had two heads. That book… at the very end, what did it say?_"

Something about the Doctor's words agitated Evie's mind. There was something that he'd said that didn't seem quite right but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"_Hang on…_" River reached into her bag and pulled out the book she and the Doctor had been examining earlier.

"_Read it to me._" He ordered imperiously, not even turning around. Evie pulled a face at the back of his head and turned, shining her torch around the cavernous tunnels. Her mind was still grappling with what the Doctor had said and why she thought it sounded odd.

"'_What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us; the time of Angels.'_" River read aloud from the book.

She stopped, looking around warily. As she caught Evie's eye, the younger woman saw that River looked worried. Trying to reassure her, Evie winked and pushed forward to the front of the group.

"Come on… let's not hang around here. It's way too creepy."

"I'll go first!" The Doctor told her firmly, stressing the first word. "You stay out of the way."

"Eurgh… men!" The brunette snapped, rolling her eyes.

"And stay away from those soldiers!" He warned her, almost paternally, as he pushed past to take the lead. "They're… all soldiery."

"Exactly." Evie murmured, winking at Amy. "I think I can handle myself." The Doctor turned to stare at her ferociously and the young woman sighed. Over his shoulder she could see her mother smirking in amusement. "Alright, chill out DAD. I'll stay away from the big, bad soldiers."

"There's no need to be sarcastic." He muttered, pouting slightly. Evie just grinned.


	8. Danger

"_Are we there yet?_" Amy moaned as they continued trekking up through the maze. "_It's a hell of a climb._"

"_The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go._" River told her casually. Evie groaned as well at this information.

"_Lovely species, the Aplans._" The Doctor threw in suddenly. "_We should visit them some time._"

Amy arched an eyebrow. "_I thought they were all dead?_"

"_So's Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful; that's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head._" He said casually, leaning closer to River.

Again the uneasy feeling hit Evie as the Doctor spoke and she tried to work out what had caused it. Certainly, the idea of kissing something with two heads was slightly disgusting, but surely that wasn't enough to make her feel like she was missing something important. As she glanced around the statues that filled the small chamber they were walking though she had an odd feeling that the answer was staring her in the face.

"_Doctor, there's something. I don't know what it is..._" River started, echoing her daughter's feelings. Evie stared at her, slightly alarmed. If her mother was getting a strange feeling as well, surely it couldn't be her imagination.

"_Yeah, something wrong; don't know what it is yet either, working on it. Then they started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you. Erm, no offence, Bishop._"

Octavian glanced at him as the Doctor removed his torch beam from shining directly into the Bishop's face. "_Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor._"

The Doctor pulled a face as the cleric walked away, heading further into the tunnels. Evie smirked slightly and then shivered as she glanced around and the uneasy feeling returned with a vengeance.

"_Lowest point in the wreckage is only about 50 feet up from here. That way._" Octavian stated.

Amy seemed to be the only one who didn't have a strange feeling that she was missing something. "_Church had a point, if you think about it. The divorces must have been messy._" She joked.

Evie stopped dead, staring horrified at a statue centimetres in front of her. The thing she'd been missing had just occurred to her; hitting her with a force equivalent to a Judoon ship crash-landing on her head. Her hand flew to her mouth and she stumbled backwards away from the stone figure. In her haste she dropped her torch and it rolled away with a clatter.

"_Oh…_" The Doctor breathed; his own gazed fixed on a statue and a similar expression on his face.

"_Oh._" River said seconds later. Evie guessed that she had just realised the same thing.

The Doctor and River stared at each other, their gaze flicking to Evie's horrified face before returning to each other. "_Exactly._"

"_How could we not notice that?_" The archaeologist hissed.

"_Low level perception filter, or maybe we're thick._" The Doctor almost snapped back.

Evie reached out to touch one of the statues. "I prefer the first option."

"Don't!" River commanded quickly before the brunette's fingertips could brush against the stone.

"_What's wrong, sir?_" Octavian demanded worriedly. No one had actually told them what was going on and yet the Doctor, Doctor Song and her daughter all seemed to know what the problem was.

The Time Lord was panicking slightly, desperately trying to keep his calm. "_Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger._"

Evie froze on the spot. Then she moved a fraction, balancing herself properly on both feet before she fell over. From her position, she was isolated from the rest of the group; her mother to her right and Amy and Octavian to her left. The Doctor was a little way in front of her.

"_What danger?_" The Bishop asked, looking around nervously. The Doctor's panic seemed to be spreading and a feeling of paranoia had settled over everyone. All eyes were alert and darting around the dimly lit chamber for any hint of danger.

"_The Aplans._" River said.

Octavian grimaced in confusion. "_The Aplans?_" He repeated.

"_They've got two heads._"

"_Yes, I get that. So?_"

"_So why don't the statues? Everyone, over there. Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak._" They did as the Doctor ordered, gathering together in an open space. River grasped Evie's wrist as she reached her, dragging the young woman to her side and making sure she stayed close. Immediately everyone was on their guard, staring at the statues. "_OK. I want you all to switch off your torches._"

"_Sir?_" Octavian asked, surprised by the order. Amy, Evie and River exchanged a look, somewhere between fear and shock.

"_Just do it!_" He demanded. Everyone did as he said, reluctantly. "_OK. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment._"

River glanced sideways at her daughter. "_Are you sure about this?_" She hissed.

"_No._" He admitted.

And then, for a split second, darkness fell. When the Doctor turned his torch back on the statues had moved. Evie instinctively reached out and grabbed her mother's hand. River was too shocked to react in any way other than squeezing it tightly.

"_Oh my god!_" Amy muttered. "_They've moved._"

If Evie hadn't been so freaked out she would have replied scathingly about her grandmother pointing out the obvious, but she couldn't. Her hearts hammered in her chest and she whirled around, not letting her eyes close for the smallest moment. The Doctor was running around, examining the statues closely.

They followed, slowing to a walk as they reached a statue on the ground in their way, reaching out towards them. Evie flattened herself against the wall as she passed; convinced it was going to grab hold of her.

"_They're Angels._" The Doctor announced needlessly. "_All of them._"

"_They can't be!_" River argued, not wanting to believe it. There was too much evidence, however, to doubt it.

"_Clerics, keep watching them._" He ordered, ignoring her. River, Evie and Amy followed him further along the path until he stopped, leaning forwards and peering down through a gap in the walkway. "_Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us._"

"Great, brilliant, perfect." Evie hissed under her breath, clenching her fists into balls.

"Shhh!" River murmured softly, running a hand over her arm and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. Evie took a deep breath and nodded. "So, Doctor? What do we do?"

"How did they get here?" Evie asked, finding a new burst of courage and feeling a little embarrassed that she'd lost her head. She turned, aiming her torch along the path and seeing more of the Angels heading in their direction.


	9. The Byzantium

"_There was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear._" River said firmly. Everyone had regrouped and the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Evie shone her torch around the cavern, barely concealing a jump each time the beam caught the face of one of the statues. Forgetting Father Octavian's order that they should stay in a group, the young woman wandered away slightly, staring upwards at the mass of statues around them.

"Miss!" One of the cleric soldiers called gruffly, reaching out and tapping her shoulder. Evie jumped and whirled around. "You have to stay with the others."

"_Could they have been here already?_" Amy asked as Evie nodded and retreated to stand beside River once more.

The Doctor moved his torch beam briefly to shine on River. "_The Aplans, how did they die out?_"

"_Nobody knows._" She told him with a shrug, her gaze wandering around the area.

"_We know._" The Time Lord pointed out at exactly the same moment as Evie said, "I've got a good idea."

Father Octavian scowled. "_They don't look like Angels._"

"_And they're not fast. You said they were fast._" Amy almost complained. "_They should have had us by now._"

"_They're dying; losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving._"

"_Losing their image._" The red-head supplied.

Evie glanced at her, slightly surprised. Then she shrugged, supposing it was easy enough to make the relevant connections; the Angels lost their form, which meant they lost their image.

"_And their image is their power. Power._" The Doctor straightened up. If it had been a cartoon Evie was sure she'd have just seen a light bulb switching on above his head. He clapped excitedly, suddenly full of energy once more. "_Power!_"

"_Doctor?_"

He paced backwards and forwards speaking at about a hundred miles an hour. Everyone's eyes were on him, no one even daring to take a breath. "_Don't you see? All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident - it was a rescue mission, for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up._"

"_We need to get out of here fast._" River said in a low, anxious voice. She glanced sideways at Evie, before fixing her gaze on Amy. Apparently she was deciding which of the younger women she should keep a closer eye on. She made up her mind quickly, realising that the Doctor would be keeping his eagle gaze on Amy and Evie was more likely to get herself into a stupidly dangerous situation anyway.

"_Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please." _Father Octavian said gruffly into his radio. When no instant reply came, his tone became more concerned, increasing in volume. _"Any of you, come in!_"

There was a screechy, crackling sound and then, "_It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir._"

"_Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat; all the statues are active!_"

The three women and the remaining soldiers stood in a huddle, their eyes darting around them constantly. Each flickering shadow caused by their torches set off an involuntary shudder or muffled sound from the group. Evie thought that the tenseness and paranoia caused by the situation was almost worse than the threat itself.

"_I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir._"

"_Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor." _He said, snatching the radio out of the Bishop's grip and pointedly ignoring the man's expression. _"Where are you now?_"

"_I'm talking to my–_" Father Octavian started, but the Doctor cut him off quickly, holding a finger up in his face.

"_Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep… shut up!_"

"_I'm on my way up to you, sir; I'm homing on your signal._" The relief that Evie had initially felt on hearing Bob's voice over the radio dampened slightly. She had an uneasy feeling that something wasn't quite right. If the Angels had killed the others, why hadn't they got Bob?

"_Ahh! Well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?_"

"_Snapped their necks, sir._" Bob told them.

River glanced at the soldier closest to her, sharing a horrified look. Evie clutched at her mother's arm, gripping the rough material of her shirt tightly, almost as though it were a comfort. Something still felt wrong.

"_That's odd._" The Doctor mused aloud. "_That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something._"

Octavian snatched the radio out of his hand impatiently. "_Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan._"

"_Don't be an idiot! The Angels don't leave you alive!_" The Time Lord snapped at the Bishop, retrieving control of the radio once more. He shot him a withering look, before speaking into the device once more. "_Bob, keep running, but tell me, how did you escape?_"

"_I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too._"

The silence seemed to grow heavy at these words; the atmosphere darkening significantly. Evie gulped, her feeling of foreboding deepening by the second. She'd known that something wasn't quite right and now it had been proved. Everyone glanced at each other, exchanging terrified looks.

"_What do you mean the Angel killed you too?_" The Doctor asked slowly.

"_Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something._" Evie went cold at the words. It wasn't so much what Bob had said, but the casual tone in which he had said it.

"_If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?_"

"_You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion._"

"_So when you say you're on your way up to us..._"

"_It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes._"

The Doctor shut off the radio abruptly. "_No way out._" He exclaimed, resuming his pacing.

"_Then we get out through the wreckage._" Father Octavian ordered briskly. "_Go!_"

"_Go, go, go! All of you, run!_" The Doctor agreed.

Needing no extra encouragement, River took a firm hold of her daughter's hand and dragged her along behind as she went. They ran through the dark tunnels in a panic, following the bobbing torch beams of the soldier Clerics in front of them. Evie stumbled several times, but never enough to be a danger. Unable to see where she was going she crashed into the rock on either side of the narrow passageways, causing countless bruises that would be painfully evident in the morning, if she lasted that long, and ripping her clothing.

They finally emerged into a huge, clear area. Gazing upwards the young woman stared in open-mouthed awe at the bottom of a massive, metal dome. Small fires were visible and there was the dusty taste of recently agitated rubble in the air. Everyone stared upwards, trying to take stock of the situation.

"_Well. There it is… the __Byzantium__._" Father Octavian said in a low, almost amused voice. His eyes flickered towards River for a split second, before returning to settle on the bottom of the devastated starliner.

River sighed loudly, taking in the logistics of what they needed to do. She let go of Evie's hand, and the young woman stretched her fingers after her mother holding on so tightly. It was almost painful as the blood flow returned. "_Oh, it's got to be 30 feet. How do we get up there?_"

"_Check all these exits. I want them all secure._" The Bishop barked.

Immediately his men jumped to attention, doing as he ordered. They were gone for a while, leaving Father Octavian, River and Evie alone in the chamber. None of them spoke, their torchlight and eyes flitting between each of the exits for any sign of the statues.

"_The statues are advancing along all corridors. And, sir, my torch keeps flickering._" One of the Clerics called, reappearing from one of the tunnels at a sprint.

"_They all do._" Octavian told him just as, as though they were trying to prove his point, all the torches began to blink rapidly.

River glanced upwards. "_So does the gravity globe._"

"They're getting closer." Evie warned, spinning on the spot at the sound of falling stones.

"_Clerics, we're down to four men._" Octavian said in a low voice. "_Expect incoming._"

Everyone jumped as the Doctor and Amy suddenly appeared in their midst. Evie sent them a small scowl for frightening her. "_Yeah, it's the Angels. They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves._"

"_Which means we won't be able to see them._" Octavian pointed out as the flickering got worse. River reached out for Evie's hand in the near darkness.

"_Which means we can't stay here._"

"_Two more incoming!_"

"_Any suggestions?_" River demanded of the Doctor in a low voice, letting go of her daughter's hand as Amy moved to stand beside her. Instead, Evie reached out and gripped Amy's hand, causing the red-head to glance at her quickly; her anxious expression briefly replaced by something calmer.

The Bishop glanced up, before shaking his head and speaking in a gruff voice. "_The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the__Byzantium."_

"_There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a really good idea._" River said, her voice straining with emotion.

The three women had unconsciously moved closer together. Amy and River were both staring at the Doctor, while Evie's eyes were still darting between the exits. She could almost feel the Angels advancing towards them.

There was a long pause before the Doctor answered. When he did, his voice was calm and quiet and barely audible, even in the silence of the maze of the dead. "_There's always a way out._"


	10. That's Just Freaky

"_There's always a way out._" The Doctor repeated after a couple of moments of looking around with his torch beam waving erratically.

The Angels were coming closer each time the light failed, which was more and more often. The only sounds in the catacombs were the odd humming drone of the gravity globe high above them and the short, sharp sounds of people breathing nervously. Every now and then someone would give a small gasp, causing everyone else to jump.

"_Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?_" Angel Bob asked over the radio.

The Doctor replied in a low voice, his eyes flashing, almost in excitement. "_Hello, Angels. What's your problem?_"

"_Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir._"

"_Why are you telling me this?_"

"_There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end._"

"_Which is?_"

"_I died in fear._"

There was complete silence. Evie glanced sideways at River and grabbed her hand once more, clinging on tightly. Amy, still holding onto the brunette's other hand, blinked several times and opened her mouth, as though she were about to say something. Then she closed it quickly, watching the Doctor. He had gone pale at the Angel's words.

"_I'm sorry?_"

"_You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain and alone._" Bob's voice said over the radio. "_You made me trust you and, when it mattered, you let me down._"

"_What are they doing?_" Amy whispered, leaning past Evie to speak to River. The only other sound was the loud hum of the gravity globe.

River barely moved her lips as she answered, her eyes glued to the Doctor. "_They're trying to make him angry._"

"_I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that._"

"_Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass._" The Doctor said in quiet anger. It was almost more frightening than seeing him in full, Oncoming Storm rage. He seemed to be seething inside. "_I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier._"

"_But you're trapped, sir, and about to die._"

"_Yeah, I'm trapped. Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake!_" He said loudly, turning several times on the spot, looking around as though he was searching for something.

"_What mistake, sir?_" Angel Bob asked.

The Doctor turned to fix Amy with a steady gaze. "_Trust me?_"

"_Yeah._" She said, smiling weakly and nodding. There was almost no pause between his question and her answer.

Next, he turned to look at River. "_Trust me?_"

"_Always._" There was no hesitation before she replied.

Smiling, the Doctor twisted round on his heels to face Evie. "And you, Evie, trust me?"

"Of course." She told him firmly. "Every time!"

"_You lot - trust me?_"

There was a pause before the Clerics answered. One of the soldiers turned at the Doctor's words, briefly taking his eyes off the tunnel he was watching. The lights flashed again and, when he looked back, the Angels had advanced towards them. Raising his gun, the soldier gulped.

"_Sir, two more incoming!_"

"_We have faith, sir._" Octavian nodded, looking almost as though he was lying.

"_Then give me your gun._" The Time Lord ordered Octavian, looking at it closely. River, Amy and Evie exchanged curious looks, wondering why the Doctor wanted the weapon; surely even the Weeping Angels couldn't make him do a U-turn on his hatred of guns. "_I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do... jump._" He demonstrated what he meant, bouncing lightly on the spot.

Octavian looked at him as though he'd gone mad. "_Jump where?_"

"_Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal._"

"_What signal?_"

"_You won't miss it._" The Doctor told him.

He raised his arm, pointing the gun at the bottom of the Byzantium. Evie furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what he was intending to do. She turned to ask her mother if she had any ideas but, catching the look on River's face as she gazed at the Doctor, she changed her mind. Apparently the sight of the Doctor with a gun in his hand was one the archaeologist liked. Evie rolled her eyes.

"_Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake?_" Angel Bob asked as the lights flickered more firmly. The periods of darkness were growing longer now and there was far less time between them.

"_Oh, big, big mistake; really huge._" The Doctor ground out between his clenched teeth, shifting slightly from foot to foot as he concentrated on his aim. "_There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap._"

"_And what would that be, sir?_" Angel Bob asked.

The Doctor grinned. "_Me!_"

A split second before the Doctor pulled the trigger of the gun, Evie realised what he was about to do. Her mouth dropped open as she quickly went through the whole plan in her head. And then they jumped. As one, they all jumped at the Doctor's signal.

There was an odd spinning sensation and Evie almost felt as though she was being sucked through the air in a vacuum. Her hair whipped around her face, having somehow managed to escape from its ponytail, getting in her eyes and mouth. She spat it out, brushing it impatiently out of the way and looked around. Slightly unsteady on her feet, as though she was on the deck of a ship, the young woman leant on her mother to get her balance, before pulling her to her feet as well.

"_Up!_" The Doctor commanded excitedly. "_Look up!_"

"Why?" Evie demanded, helping River to haul Amy to her feet and steady her.

"_You OK?_" The archaeologist demanded, quickly checking her mother for signs of injury.

Amy nodded, one hand on the side of her head. "_What happened?_"

"_We jumped._" River told her with a slight shrug.

"_Jumped where?_"

"_Up, up, look up!_" The Doctor repeated.

"_Where are we?_" Amy wanted to know, moving slightly and doing as he said.

Evie followed suit and was immediately hit by a strange light-headed sensation. She knew where they were and how they'd got there. It didn't mean she had to like the realisation, however. Staring up at the cavern where they'd just been standing, surrounded by the advancing Weeping Angels, was making her feel dizzy. Abruptly she looked at her feet.

"_Exactly where we were._" River told her, slightly breathless. She, too, looked a little giddy.

"_No, we're not._"

"_Move your feet._" The Doctor ordered.

Amy did as she was told and the Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the floor beneath where her feet had just been. He began to circle it around a large metal disk. "_Doctor, what am I looking at? Explain._"

"_Oh, come on, Amy, think!_" He told her, as though he thought she was being slow. Stopping his sonicing, he moved to stand directly behind her. "_The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?_" Evie tried to mime gravity, to give Amy a clue. The red-head looked at her in bewilderment, not understanding what she was trying to do. Finally she shook her head and the Doctor gave a little sigh. "_The artificial gravity. One good jump and up we fell. Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!_"

He returned to sonicing the disk on the floor as River looked delightedly around. She examined the rock above her head carefully. Evie found that she couldn't do this because looking up at the rock meant that she could see the cavern above them.

"OK, that's just freaky." Amy muttered in Evie's ear, making her jump.

She laughed. "I know… I can't look up… it's making me want to throw up."

"Oh, god, yes!" The red-head nodded in agreement, clutching her arm. "I cannot look anywhere above your head without feeling sick!"

"_Doctor. The statues, they look more like Angels now._" Father Octavian's voice cut through their conversation, making both young women turn quickly to look at him. Then, as one, they took a deep breath and looked upwards. Sure enough, several of the statues could clearly be seen reaching towards them from the floor of the caver. And they definitely looked a lot like Angels.

"_They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army!_" The Doctor warned. With a click and a loud buzz the metal disk opened to reveal a corridor below. It stretched down into the ship, far below them. There was an explosion as one of the lights in the floor blew. "_They're taking out the lights. Look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly all of you!_"

Amy stared in confusion as the Doctor dropped into the tunnel. "_But how? Doctor!_"


	11. Some Kind of Madman

"_It's just a corridor._" The Doctor said with a cheeky grin as Amy leant over the edge of the hole and stared down at him. "_The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!_"

There was another flash as a second light blew. Not needing any encouragement, Evie practically pushed Amy into the hole before jumping down herself. Her feet connected with the firm, metal floor and immediately she felt better, less disorientated. She hadn't liked the feeling of seeing the ground above her head and feeling what she thought of as the ceiling under her feet. Moments later River appeared beside her and smiled.

Once the three women were safely inside, Octavian ushered his man down, before jumping himself. "_OK, men, go, go, go! The Angels, presumably they can jump up too?_"

The door closed with a snap. The Doctor glanced around warily. "_They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished. Run!_"

"_This whole place is a death trap._" Octavian declared as a panel closed, trapping them in the corridor.

"_No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic._" The Time Lord ordered, sounding very much as though he was panicking. As loud bangs came from the hatch end of the corridor, signalling the arrival of the Weeping Angels, everyone turned to look. Evie took a deep breath, calming herself and gathering all of her determination. "_Oh, just me then. What's through here?_"

"_Secondary flight deck._" River told him, not needing to look at where the Doctor was pointing.

"_OK. So we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?_" Amy asked, nervously. River had opened a panel on the wall and pulled her daughter over to take a look. "_So what if the gravity fails?_"

"_I've thought about that._"

"_And?_"

"_And we'll all plunge to our deaths. See. I've thought about it._" The Doctor babbled. "_The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible._"

River was unscrewing a cable inside the panel, throwing an occasional glance to Evie, who nodded, muttering out loud as she thought. "_How impossible?_"

"_Two minutes._"

Suddenly the hatch was open. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at it. The lights flickered dangerously as the Doctor made his way slowly towards the entrance.

"_The hull is breached and the power's failing._" Octavian said as it went so dark they could barely see anything.

As a light flashed, an arm was clearly visible in the entrance. "_Sir! Incoming!_"

"_Doctor! Lights._" Amy ordered, panicking. Evie moved quickly to her side, gripping her hand firmly.

As the lights continued to flash erratically, the Angels got closer. At first there was one; just an arm reaching through the open hatch. Then, as the lights failed and returned again, four of the creatures stood at the end of the corridor facing them. The hatch had closed behind them, meaning that they were trapped in the section of the corridor with no way of escape.

"Now would be a really good time for you to have a brainwave." Evie hissed at the Doctor, her hand throbbing from how tightly her grandmother was gripping it. She was sure that Amy's nails digging into her skin had drawn blood.

"_Clerics, keep watching them._" The Bishop commanded his men.

"_And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes._" The Doctor warned them, fiddling around with the panel River had abandoned at the appearance of the Angels. "_I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now._"

"_Good work, Doctor._"

"_Yes. Good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..._"

"_So far?_" Amy demanded, her voice cracking with emotion as the Doctor removed the front of another panel behind the young women. He removed a wire and stared at it.

"_Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control._"

The Bishop nodded. "_Good, fine, do it._"

"_Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights._" The Doctor said, walking towards the Angels who hadn't moved since the lights had been fixed. Everyone stared at him in horror. Evie's mouth dropped open and, it was only because Amy's grip had tightened even more on her hand, that she didn't start panicking. Instead, she got annoyed.

"When I said it was time for you to have a brainwave, I meant a GOOD idea, spaceman!" Evie snapped. "Not a bloody insane one!"

River shot her a look, before returning her attention to the wiring, but Father Octavian pointedly ignored the girl. "_How long for?_"

"_Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer._"

"_Maybe?_" He asked, his voice catching in his throat. Evidently the Bishop didn't like vague answers.

"_I'm guessing._" The Doctor admitted with a slight shrug. "_We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship; there isn't a manual for this!_"

Amy's voice was full of frustration, annoyance and panic. "_Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness._"

"_No other way._" He told her, almost apologetically. "_Bishop?_"

"_Dr Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust this man?_"

"_I absolutely trust him._" She replied, no hint of doubt visible on her face. His eyes flicked to Evie and she nodded, doubting whether he was very interested in her opinion, but giving it anyway.

"_He's not some kind of madman then?_"

This time there was the slightest of pauses before River answered, repeating her previous phrase. "_I absolutely trust him._"

When Father Octavian's gaze flickered to Evie this time, she had to work harder not to give away her opinion on whether her father was 'some kind of madman'. The Doctor grinned, patted them both on the shoulder and whirled around to fiddle with the wiring in the second panel.

"_Excuse me._" He said with a grin, burying his head in the panel. Amy hovered at his side, watching closely and Evie took the opportunity to massage her sore hand.

"_I'm taking your word, because you're the only one who can manage this guy._" Octavian muttered to River in a low voice, flicking his gaze to her daughter as well and including her in the warning. "_But that only works so long as he doesn't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?_"

River looked at him, furious that he was threatening to reveal their secrets. "_Understood._" She snapped bitterly, turning away from him at once.

"And you?" He asked, glancing at Evie, who stared back defiantly, clenching her jaw. She took great exception to herself or her mother being told what to do. She was even angrier that they were being blackmailed, especially as she didn't know what they were getting in return for helping the clerics. Reluctantly she nodded, however, before moving to stand by River and watch her working.

"_OK. Doctor, we've got your back._" Father Octavian said, apparently satisfied with their responses.

"_Bless you, Bishop._"

Turning, the cleric addressed his men, getting them ready to face their enemy as soon as the lights were extinguished. "_Combat distance, ten feet. As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shot gun protocol, we don't have bullets to waste._"

"_Amy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns._" The Doctor said hurriedly, finishing what he was doing and moving away.

"_Ten._" She replied.

"_No, four… four turns._"

"_Yeah, four, I heard you._" Amy snapped, looking mildly confused. Evie glanced at her, bemused.

Then she shook her head and returned her attention to what her mother was doing with the panel. River finished re-screwing the cover and turned to her daughter. Their eyes met in a mutual understanding. They trusted the Doctor completely. But if something went wrong then they wouldn't lose their heads. Smiling weakly, River turned and faced the Angels once more, reaching out for her daughter.

"_Ready!_"

"_On my count then._" Father Octavian said. "_God be with us all. Three... two... one. Fire!_"


	12. It's an Oxygen Factory

"_Turn!_" The Doctor bellowed as the Clerics opened fire on the Angels. Their bullets seemed to be having very little effect on the creatures as, each time the smallest amount of light illuminated the corridor, they seemed to be advancing.

"Doctor, quickly!" Evie shouted as she helped Amy wrench the metal wheel around on the hatch.

As it began to slide open, Amy gave a triumphant cry. "_It's opening, it's working._"

"_Fall back!_"

River bundled her daughter through the small gap that had appeared between the hatch and the wall before moving through as well, closely followed by Amy. After the three women came the Clerics.

"Doctor!" The brunette shouted again, a split second before the Time Lord slid through the tiny gap and the hatch closed, trapping the Angels on the other side. Evie let out a sigh of relief, an emotion which was echoed on the faces of her mother and grandmother.

They retreated along the next section of corridor, eyes glued to the hatch as a loud banging noise filled the area. The Angels seemed to be trying to get through the metal shutter. Scanning the next door with his screwdriver, the Doctor managed to override the system and open it. Octavian and a couple of his men went in first, ensuring that it was safe, before the others followed.

"_Doctor, quickly!_" River snapped, as the last of the Clerics moved through the door and into the control room. Evie glanced around quickly, taking in the technology and controls.

"_Doctor!_" Amy called as well, realising that he was the only one who hadn't come inside. The sound of the sonic screwdriver could still be heard in the corridor outside.

"Hurry up!" Evie urged.

As soon as the sonic stopped, the hatch began to close. The Doctor dodged through with split-seconds to spare. It was so close that the edge of his tweed jacket almost got trapped between the metal. Without even noticing, the Time Lord sprinted through the control room, heading straight for the mainframe. Amy followed, joining River and Evie who were already tapping at the monitors, checking readings and manipulating the controls.

As they all watched, the wheel-handle on the door began to spin. "_Doctor!__"_ Amy called out, terrified at the sight. Evie paused for a moment, glancing at the hatch, before resuming her furious tapping at the keys on the control panel in front of her. _"__What are you doing?_"

There was a clunk, a hiss and the wheel stopped moving at once. Octavian had attached a magnetic clamp. It glowed red, signalling that it was working.

"_Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now._" He explained.

"_Yeah?_" The Doctor said, not sounding convinced. Evie had a sinking feeling that something as basic as a magnetic clamp on the door wouldn't hold the Weeping Angels out for long. Her resolve deepened and her fingers moved faster still over the keys. Beside her, River was working on the mounds of loose wiring that covered the console.

Almost at once there was a loud clank and the wheel jerked clockwise in odd, spasmodic movements. Everyone froze, staring in horror at the door.

"_Dear God!_" Octavian exclaimed as the movements became more steady.

The Doctor grinned. "_Ah, now you're getting it! You've bought us time though, that's good. I am good with time._"

"_Doctor!_"

"_Seal that door. Seal it now!_" Octavian ordered his men as there was a large clunk and the wheel on a second door started moving.

The cleric did as he was told, attaching a magnetic clamp and standing in position, his gun raised and aimed at the door.

"_We're surrounded!_" River pointed out.

"_Seal it, seal that door._" The Bishop snapped as a third door started moving as well. "_Doctor, how long have we got?_"

"_Five minutes, max._"

"_Nine._"

Evie glanced up, shooting Amy a curious look as the red-head spoke. Her eyes met her mother's for a moment and she saw the same question reflected there. Why?

"_Five._" The Doctor repeated.

"_Five, right yeah._"

"_Why d'you say nine?_"

"_I didn't._"

"_We need another way out of here._" River pointed out as loud clunking noises filled the room and the wheel-handles on each of the doors started moving. She looked around, her eyes darting over the room looking for any un-blocked exit. Evie's fingers paused on the controls as she followed suit.

"_There isn't one._"

"_Yeah, there is, course there is._" The Doctor said, ignoring Father Octavian's words and dancing around agitatedly, thinking. "_This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So__what do they need?_"

River, who had returned to the wiring, looked up and gasped. "_Of course!_"

"_Of course, what? What do they need?_" Amy asked, glancing between the Doctor, River and Evie. The brunette had no idea what her parents were getting at, either. She shrugged and looked around, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to work it out before they said. Evie hated them telling her things she should have been able to work out for herself. What was the point of having a Time Lord brain and everything that went with it if you couldn't figure things out without being told!

"_Can we get in there?_"

"_Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up…__there's clamps. Release the clamps!_" The Doctor went to work on the devices with his sonic screwdriver as Evie continued to rack her brains for the answer.

"_What's through there? What do they need?_"

"_They need to breathe._" River said simply. Then it hit Evie. A split second before the hatch raised and revealed a mass of vegetation, the young woman knew what she would see. She gasped, wondering at the sheer size of the forest, the amount of trees and just how natural it all looked.

Amy stepped forwards, her mouth dropping open in surprise. "_But that's... That's a..._"

"_It's an oxygen factory._"

"_It's a forest._"

"_Yeah, it's a forest, it's an oxygen factory._" River agreed with a slight smirk. She glanced at Evie and winked. Her daughter rolled her eyes, knowing that River knew that the reason she had been so quiet had been because she didn't know the answers. This made the archaeologist smirk even more.

"_And, if we're lucky, an escape route._"

Amy exhaled sharply, unable to believe what she was seeing. "_Eight._"

"_What did you say?_" River demanded.

Turning to look at her blankly, Amy shook her head and shrugged. "_Nothing._"

"_Is there another exit?_" The Doctor asked, glossing over the strange moment. "_Scan the architecture; we don't have time to get lost in there._"

"_On it!_" Octavian said, moving through the hatch and into the forest. _"__Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels._"

"_But trees! On a space ship?_"

"_Oh, more than trees, way better than trees… you're going to love this.__Tree-borgs!_" The Doctor exclaimed, moving into the forest and plucking at the moss growing on the side of one of the trees. It opened up to reveal a complicated looking mass of gently pulsating wires. "_Trees plus technology… branches become cables, become sensors on the hull; a forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains! There's a whole mini-climate. It is an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze! Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?_"

She laughed and shook her head, definitely impressed. "_Seven._"

"_Seven?_"

"_Sorry, what?_"

"_You said seven._"

"_No, I didn't._" Amy replied, screwing up her face. She shot Evie a glance and noticed that the younger girl was staring at her with concern on her face. This realisation shook Amy and she looked back at the Doctor warily, obviously realising that something strange was going on.

River glanced at her daughter as well, before nodding. "_Yes, you did._"

"_Doctor!_" Octavian called from the forest, momentarily breaking the tense atmosphere in the control room. "_There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck._"

"_Good, that's where we need to go._" The Doctor replied distractedly, still staring into Amy's eyes.

"_Plotting a safe path now._"

"_Quick as you like!_" He agreed, barely looking away from his companion.

River looked sideways at Evie, who shot her an anxious look back and shrugged, before moving to see if she could help with the alterations her mother was making to the wiring.


	13. The Angels are Laughing

"_Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir._" The familiar voice came through the radio, making them all jump. The Doctor dropped into the chair behind the console to answer. Briefly Evie glanced up from the complex tangle of wires, before returning to her task once more. She kept her ears trained on the conversation though.

"_Ah! There you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject._"

"_The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve._"

"_Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here; consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?_"

"_The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world and all the stars and worlds beyond._"

"_Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?_" The Doctor said, covering his nerves by joking around and causing Evie to smirk slightly.

Apparently the Angels didn't understand the concept of a joke. "_We have no need of comfy chairs._"

"_I made him say comfy chairs!_" The Time Lord muttered, making the women standing behind him laugh.

"_Six._"

At Amy's words, Evie dropped the metal clasp in her hand onto the console with a loud clang. There was definitely something very wrong happening. The combination of the loud metallic sound and Amy's voice pushed the Doctor into seriousness once more and he leapt out of the chair.

"_Okay, well, enough chat. Here's what I want to know; what have you done to Amy?_"

"_There is something in her eye._"

"_What's in her eye?_" He demanded.

"_We are._"

Everything else was forgotten at once. Evie jumped to Amy's side, resting a hand on her arm and looking closely into her eyes. She gasped slightly and recoiled. The red-head shot her and anguished look, wondering what the cause of her reaction could have been. Her gaze flickered between the others.

"_What's he talking about?_" She demanded. The Doctor stared into her eyes, just as the brunette had done moments before. Amy looked past him to Evie and River, who were just watching in stunned silence. "_Doctor, I'm five…__I mean five. Fine! I'm fine._"

"_You're counting._"

"_Counting?_"

"_You're counting down… from ten. You have been for a couple of minutes._" The Doctor told her briskly.

"_Why?_"

"_I don't know._"

"_Well, counting down to what?_"

"_I don't know!_" He repeated softly.

"There's… in her eyes..." Evie muttered. Everyone turned to look at her, but she found she couldn't speak. Shaking her head, Evie looked at the wires strewn across the console trying to make sense of what she'd seen. Or what she thought she'd seen.

River stared at her, curiously, wondering what she was been trying to get at. The young woman was fiddling with the wires, twirling them between her fingers and looking at them much more intently than she usually would be. Resting a hand on her arm, River tried to get Evie to look up, but she wouldn't.

"_We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space._" The Angel said over the radio.

The Doctor dropped back into his chair. "_Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much._"

"_With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand._"

Without warning, the most horrible noise any of them had ever heard erupted throughout the ship. It was a grinding, screeching, screaming sound. Evie grimaced and clamped her hands over her ears, looking around wildly for the cause. There didn't seem to be anything malfunctioning and there was no immediately obvious source for the sound. She had never heard anything like it before and didn't know where to begin thinking of an explanation for it.

"_Dear god, what is it?_" River asked, whirling around.

An ominous banging and clanging noise joined the screeching. Octavian looked panicked. "_They're back._"

"_It's hard to put in your terms, Dr Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing._" Bob explained. Evie was more than a little disturbed that the Angel had referred to her mother by name. This scared her more than the Angels threats had before.

"_Laughing?_"

"_Because you haven't noticed yet._" It said. "_The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed._"

"_Doctor!_" Father Octavian was trying to urge them to move, to head out into the comparative safety of the forest.

"_No, wait, there's something... I've...__missed._"

The banging and clanging noise grew louder, a rumbling rattle adding to the cacophony. The control room even started to shake slightly; it was barely noticeable at first but it was definitely there. The Doctor turned slowly to look behind him, causing everyone else to follow his gaze. Evie's mouth dropped open, instantly recognising the shape of the crack that had just appeared in the metal wall behind them.

"_That's... that's… that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl._" Amy said, horrified. As though drawn by instinct, they all moved closer as one to look at it. The red-head glanced sideways at Evie, who nodded slowly, remembering seeing the crack in little Amelia's bedroom.

"_Yes…_"

The Bishop had finally had enough. "_OK, enough, we're moving out!_"

"_Agreed, Doctor!_" River snapped, as the shaking grew more and more violent.

"_Yeah, fine!_"

"_What are you doing?_" She demanded as he climbed on top of one of the transportable cabinets and leant towards the crack, holding his sonic screwdriver into the glowing light that it emitted.

"_Right with you._"

"_We're not leaving without you!_" River told him firmly.

"_Oh, yes you are. Bishop?_"

"_Miss Pond, Dr Song,_ Miss Robinson, _now!_" Father Octavian ordered from the forest where he and his men were already waiting. Evie jumped, forgetting that she was acting under a false name.

River grabbed the hands of both young women and dragged them out of the console room towards the forest. Running while the room was shaking uncontrollably was difficult, especially as Amy seemed determined to stay and wait for the Doctor.

"_Doctor, come on!_" She screamed.

As soon as they were out of the room, River let go of their hands and they gathered into a group. Father Octavian barked out orders to his men, forming them into a team and ensuring that the women were closely guarded; whether for their safety or because he thought they'd do something risky, they weren't sure. He stared at his prisoners for a long moment, as though silently conveying a warning. River rolled her eyes and exhaled sharply.

They walked through the forest in silence, ears and eyes straining for any sight or sound of incoming Angels. Evie tripped several times over randomly trailing branches and roots. Once, she went sprawling to the ground covering her camouflage uniform in mud for the second time that night.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed, before she was hauled to her feet by a less than sympathetic Father Octavian.

"Are you alright?" He asked gruffly, almost as though he didn't much care about the answer.

The girl glared at him, shaking his hand off her arm. "Fine."

"_Amy? Amy what's wrong?_" River asked, ahead of them. Evie hurried to her grandmother's side, peering at her closely. River joined them as well, grasping the red-head's upper arms tightly. "_Amy, what's wrong?_"

"_Four._"

"What?" Evie asked, shocked, as Amy slumped to the ground. For a split-second River didn't seem to know what to do. She looked blankly down at the young woman who was curled up on a rock. Squatting beside her and rubbing her back gently, Evie glanced at her mother before urging her into action. "River!"

"_Med-scanner, now!_"

"_Dr Song, we can't stay here, we've got to keep moving._" Octavian told her firmly, looking around for any hint of incoming Angels.

"_We wait for the Doctor._" She replied bluntly, attaching the device to Amy's arm carefully.

"_Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved..._"

"_Father Octavian, when the Doctor is in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself and if he's alive, I'll never forgive him._" She snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. She spotted an amused smirk on her daughter's face and groaned. "_And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?_"

"_Oh yeah._" He said cheekily with a grin. Evie laughed.

"_I hate you._"

The Doctor grinned even more broadly, before jumping off the rock he was standing on and moving towards them. "_You don't._"


	14. I'll do a Thing

The Doctor leapt from his perch and moved quickly to Amy's side. She was still lying, curled in a ball, on the flat rock. Behind her, Evie stood almost as though she was keeping guard with her eyes flicking around the trees making sure there was no chance an Angel could sneak up without them noticing. River was still bending over the red-head, checking her vital signs.

"_Bishop, the Angels are in the forest._" The Doctor told him, bending over Amy.

"_We need visual contact on every line of approach._"

"_How did you get past them?_" River hissed, leaning towards the Doctor and glaring at him furiously. Evie was slightly bemused by her reaction, wondering why she was apparently so angry with the Time Lord for escaping.

The Doctor, however, didn't seem bothered by her tone. "_Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe._"

"_What was it?_"

"_The end of the universe._" He told Amy with a slightly shifty expression on his face. Then he grabbed the med-scanner, grinning at Evie. She found her lips twitching into a smile without her permission. "_Let's have a look then._"

"_So, what's wrong with me?_" Amy asked in a voice that was broken and tired.

"_Nothing, you're fine._" River told her soothingly.

The Doctor contradicted her at once. "_Everything, you're dying._"

"_Doctor!_" Evie and River exclaimed together, glaring at him.

"_Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better! Right, Amy! Amy. Amy, what's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Doesn't mean anything._"

"_Doctor…_" The red-head muttered weakly.

"_Busy._"

"_Scared!_"

"'_Course, you're scared, you're dying! Shut up!_"

"_OK, let him think._" River leant close to the younger woman and spoke softly, before glaring up at the Time Lord, silently reprimanding him for his careless attitude.

"In other words, ignore him… he's rude!" Evie snapped, stroking her grandmother's hair gently.

"_What happened? She stared at the Angel; she looked into the eyes of an angel for too long..._"

One of the Clerics suddenly shuffled backwards, causing a noise in the undergrowth which made everyone jump. "_Sir! Angel, incoming!_"

"_And here._" A second called from his position a little way off.

"_Keep visual contact, do not let it move!_" Father Octavian warned in a low, measured voice.

Evie kept her hand on Amy's hair, stroking it gently. Her other hand moved to squeeze the young woman's knee reassuringly. Glancing up from the med-scanner, River looked anxious. She shook her head slightly at her daughter before looking over her shoulder to where the shouts had come from.

"_Come on, come on, wakey, wakey!_" The Doctor chanted, smacking himself on the head as he willed himself to think. "_She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and… and..._"

To everyone's surprise Amy spoke, her voice not sounding quite right. "_The image of an Angel is an Angel._"

"Anything that takes the image of an Angel IS an Angel." Evie muttered, recalling what the Doctor had read from the book earlier that evening. She gasped and stared wide-eyed at the Time Lord. "The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors."

He stared back for a moment, a look of understanding crossing his face. "_A living image in a human mind. We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want; 'cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind._" As he came to this final realisation he clamped his hands over his mouth almost as though he could take the words back and it wouldn't be true. River and Evie stared at each other, eyes wide open and jaws slack with shock.

"_Three._" Amy said. Without meaning to, both River and Evie recoiled slightly. Standing up, the Doctor started thinking hard once more. "_Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die!_"

"_Please just shut up, I'm thinking. Now counting, what's that about?_" He raised the radio to his lips, speaking to the Angel again. "_Bob, why are they making her count?_"

"_To make her afraid, sir._"

"Sadistic basta–" Evie started angrily, but River shot her a furious look and she closed her mouth quickly.

"Not helping." She muttered, raising an eyebrow.

The Doctor shot her a glance. "_OK… but why, what for?_"

"_For fun, sir._"

It was all Evie could do to bite her tongue and not come out with an entire stream of swear words. Realising the struggle her daughter was going through – seeing the tell-tale signs in the flashing of her eyes and the clenching of her fists – River grasped Evie's shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, shaking her head firmly. The young woman took a deep breath and nodded, dropping to her knees and holding Amy's hands tightly.

The Doctor growled angrily, losing control and flinging the radio furiously at the nearest tree. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times, pacing backwards and forwards as though moving around would help him think more clearly.

Amy started crying softly, staring unseeingly ahead of her. "_Doctor, what's happening to me? Explain!_"

"_Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel.__It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off._"

As he finished speaking, he looked between River and Evie, almost hopelessly. Evie chewed her lip and looked down, unable to meet his gaze anymore. She'd rarely seen him in this state before and it almost scared her. He wasn't angry… he was desperate.

"_Then what do I do?_"

"_If it was a real screen, what would we do, we'd pull the plug. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would take over!_"

"_Then what?_" River demanded. "_Quickly!_"

"_We've got to shut down the vision centres of her brain. We've got to pull the plug, starve the Angel._"

"_Doctor, she's got seconds._"

"Think!" Evie snapped, glaring at him.

He glared back, still pacing. "I AM thinking!" He waved his hands around for a moment, before staring at River. "_How would you starve your lungs?_"

She shrugged and looked back at him, obviously wondering where he was going with this line of enquiry. "_I'd stop breathing._"

"_Amy, close your eyes!_" He demanded, whirling to face her excitedly.

"_No, no, I don't want to._"

"_Good because that's not you! That's the Angel inside you; it's afraid! Do it! Close your eyes!_" He ordered.

Amy still seemed reluctant to do as he said. Stroking her hair gently, Evie whispered, "It's alright. I'm right here." After flicking them up to meet the brunette's, Amy did as she was told and squeezed her eyes shut.

"_She's normalising._" River announced, sighing with relief a moment later when an alarm went off on the med-scanner. The three of them let out the breaths they were holding, flooded with relief. "_You did it! You did it!_"

"Hear that?" Evie whispered to Amy. "You're OK…"

"_Sir? Two more incoming._" A cleric shouted, a little way off. Amy's grip on Evie's hand tightened.

"_Three more over here._"

Glancing towards the Clerics who had shouted, the Doctor sighed. The two women helped Amy to sit upright and River kept an eye on the med-scanner display, constantly checking the young woman's vital signs.

"_Still weak… dangerous to move her._" She said, shaking her head. She sat down at the young woman's side, sliding an arm around her and stroking her upper arm gently. On Amy's other side, Evie gripped her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"_So, can I open my eyes now?_"

"_Amy, listen to me._" The Doctor urged her seriously. "_If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of...paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes._"

Father Octavian was uneasy, looking around systematically. "_Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on._"

"_We're exposed everywhere and Amy can't move and anyway, that's not the plan._" The Doctor told him firmly.

"_There's a plan?_" River asked, raising an eyebrow.

Evie smirked. "There's never a plan. Is there?"

"_I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking._" The Doctor said, childishly poking his tongue out at the girl and relieving the tense atmosphere for a moment or two. She grinned at him, instantly more relaxed. "_Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here… look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you personally responsible. Twice. River, you and me _and Evie;_ we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is..._" He held up a finger, moving it around to point in the general direction somewhere behind the three women. "_…a quarter of a mile straight ahead. And from there we're gonna stabilise the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Amy._"

"_How?_" River asked simply.

"_I'll do a thing._"

Evie arched an eyebrow. "A thing?"

"_What thing?_"

"_I don't know; it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!_" He clapped his hands with an air of finality.

"_Doctor, I'm coming with you. My Clerics can look after Miss Pond. These are my best men; they'd lay down their lives in her protection._"

The Doctor stared him out. "_I don't need you._"

"_I don't care. Where Dr Song_ and Miss Robinson _go, I go._"

"_What?_" The Doctor asked, glancing at River in surprise. Then he smirked slightly, pretending to be amused. "_You two engaged or something?_"

Father Octavian clenched his jaw. "_Yes, in a manner of speaking. Marco, you're in charge till I get back._"

The Doctor glanced at River, who shrugged and pulled a face at him. Frowning slightly, he turned his gaze on Evie, who stared back blankly. The Time Lord was about to look away when he noticed the annoyed expression creeping across the girl's face and screwed up his face thoughtfully.

"_Sir!_"

"_Doctor... Please, can't I come with you?_" Amy begged, her eyes still tightly shut.

"_You'd slow us down, Miss Pond._" Father Octavian said, following River through the trees. Evie stopped, glancing over her shoulder.

"_I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up._"

"I'll stay with Amy." Evie said suddenly, walking back and sitting firmly beside the young woman, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Miss Robinson… I cannot allow –" The Bishop started, firmly. River shook her head over his shoulder, but Evie took no notice.

"Oh, sod off, mate!" The brunette snapped. "Someone should stay with her and it won't take four of us to track down the bloody Flight Deck, will it? Doctor?"

He beamed. "See? Evie's staying with you! _You'll be safer here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can. I promise._"

"_You always say that._"

"_I always come back.__Good luck everyone. _Evie… I know you'll be fine. _Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes! And keep watching the forest; stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!__River, going to need your computer.__"_ With that he patted both girls on their heads and was off, moving through the trees after the others.

"_Yeah. Later._" Amy muttered, clearly annoyed.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hello lovelies! :)<strong>_

_**This is just a quick note to say that Evie's Diary will be back at some point very soon - but I have no more chapters to upload at the moment and a 5000 word assignment to finish by the end of the week! BUT on Thursday I'm going home for Christmas, so I'll be back to my usual writing machine-ness! :)**_


	15. You're a Prisoner

As soon as the Doctor had headed off through the thick mass of trees after River and Father Octavian, Evie stood up. She kept hold of Amy's hand, staring out through the trees. Quickly she made a mental note of the possible blind spots the Clerics could have, where the Angels could get through to them.

"Amy… I'll be a couple of minutes, OK? I need to make sure that everywhere's covered properly."

"No, Evie!" She complained. "Don't go."

"Two, three minutes tops. I promise." She replied gently, prising her hand free of her grandmother's.

Moving away, the girl tramped over the undergrowth, her eyes darting in every direction as she looked for Weeping Angels. Occasionally the Clerics would give a shout, alerting the others to the presence of another of the creatures, but Evie saw none. She backed towards Amy, not stopping her gaze wandering around the clearing.

As she got nearer, she heard Amy cry out, "_Doctor?_"

Forgetting to keep her eyes out for angels, Evie whirled around and ran the rest of the short distance back towards her grandmother in the middle of the clearing. She dropped to her knees in front of Amy and grasped her hands tightly.

"Amy? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Evie?" She said, sounding totally confused. "Where's the Doctor gone?"

"The Doctor? He's with River and Octavian… they've gone to look for the Primary Flight Deck."

"What? No… he was here. A second ago… he told me to remember what he told me when I was seven."

Gently, Evie moved to sit on the rock beside Amy and wrapped an arm around her firmly. "What was that?"

"You were there." Amy said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Have you forgotten already?"

Evie grinned. "It was a while ago for me and he does talk a lot!"

They both giggled a little at that, before settling back into uneasy silence once more. Amy kept her eyes clamped shut and Evie kept hers wide open, staring around for any sign of trouble.

"So? What's going on? Why are you here… with River and the Clerics?" The older girl asked after a couple of moments of silence. Evie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. Then she sighed and shook her head, realising that Amy couldn't see her.

"It's a long story… have you heard of the Stormcage Containment Facility?" Amy shook her head. "It's a fifty-first century prison."

"What?"

"Yeah… I live in prison." Evie said bluntly, shrugging. "Father Octavian had special permission for us to leave to help him with this mission and then, when we've completed it, we're back in our cell."

"You're a prisoner, eh?" The red-head said with a slight smirk. "Well, that explains a lot."

Evie nudged her gently in the ribs. "Rude! Like what?"

"Like how good you are with that gun of yours for one!"

"Fair point!" The brunette conceded, grinning.

"So… that's how you know River?"

"Mmm…" Evie avoided answering the question by standing up abruptly at the sound of someone crashing around in the undergrowth.

"_So, what's happening?_" Amy demanded, immediately alert. "_Anything happening out there?_"

"_The Angels are still grouping._" Marco, the Cleric Father Octavian had left in charge, told them. He didn't turn, keeping his eyes fixed on the creatures. The light given off by the trees started flashing and Evie groaned. "_Are you getting this too?_"

"_The trees? Yeah._" Another of the Clerics answered.

Amy moved her head, trying to work out what they meant. "_What's wrong with the trees?_"

"The Angels are attacking them." Evie told her, as calmly as she could.

"_Here too, sir. They're ripping the Treeborgs apart._"

"_And here. They're taking out the lights._"

"_What is it? What's happening? Tell me. I can't see._" Amy was starting to panic now with all the Clerics noticing the same thing. Evie gripped her hand more tightly, shuffling closer along the rock.

"_It's the trees, ma'am. The trees are going out._" Marco said simply.

"Don't panic, Amy." Evie said in a low voice, not really comforting herself but trying to make her grandmother feel better nevertheless. "They're still a long way off. We've got a while and the Doctor and River won't just leave us here. OK?"

The older woman nodded, but was nowhere near reassured. She clung onto Evie like a limpet, unable to see. That, though, had heightened Amy's hearing and she could hear every rustle and creak as though it was coming from close beside her.

"_Angels advancing, sir._"

"_Over here, again._"

"_Weapons primed._" Marco said gruffly. "_Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!_"

Amy stood up, dragging the younger girl with her. Her nails dug painfully into Evie's hand. "_What is it? What's happening, just tell me!_"

"They're messing with the lights, sweetheart." The brunette said softly, her eyes trained on the approaching Angels.

"_Keep your position and ma'am, keep your eyes shut!_Miss Robinson, keep her calm. _Wait…_" Marco barked.

The Clerics did as he said. Evie tried to keep Amy as calm as possible, her eyes moving between the Clerics and beyond, to where the Weeping Angels were appearing through the trees. Each spell of darkness was more pronounced and lasted longer. With a sinking feeling, Evie began to realise that it wouldn't be long until the creatures caught up with them.

Without warning and completely out of nowhere, a bright white light erupted through the trees. Unable to help herself, Evie stared at it, her gaze moving from the Angels to examine it closely. Her mouth fell open as she looked at the source of the sudden illumination.

"_The ship's not on fire, is it?_" Marco asked, dazed.

"_It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it._" One of the other Clerics said. Then, there was a moment of stunned silence. "_Marco, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?_"

"_What, the Angels?_" Amy asked. Evie glanced around and realised that it was true. Not a single Angel could be seen anywhere. They had simply disappeared. If anything, however, this made the girl more nervous.

"They can't have just GONE." She pointed out, releasing her grip on Amy's arm and moving away a little to have a closer look. The red-head's hold on her hand tightened, as though she thought the younger girl was going to leave her completely.

"_This side's clear too, sir._"

Amy was confused, as was her granddaughter. "_The Angels have gone?_"

"_There's still movement out there, but away from us now. It's like they're running._" Marco said, checking his hand-held computer.

"_Running from what?_" Amy asked.

"Or TO what?" Evie questioned, tilting her head to one side and narrowing her eyes slightly. She had a feeling she knew what the answers to those questions were.

"_Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that._" Marco ordered, pointing towards the light.

Two of the Clerics left their positions and ran towards the strange glow. Now it was just Amy, Evie, Marco and one more Cleric left. Uneasily, the brunette shifted on the balls of her feet, watching the retreating soldiers with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Amy was pulling on her hand, like a small child who wanted more information.

"I don't think they should have done that…" She muttered, staring at Marco.

He turned and looked at her briefly. "In all due respect, Miss, I give the orders."

"_What are you all looking at? What's there?_" Amy demanded, preventing Evie from replying. Instead she contented herself with scowling darkly at him.

"A light…" Evie told her, almost reluctantly. "An insanely bright, totally unnatural light."

"_It's like… I don't know..._" Marco continued, elaborating. "A_ curtain of energy, sort of shifting; makes you feel weird, sick._"

"_And you think it scared the Angels?_" Amy asked, bewildered.

The second Cleric scoffed. "_What could scare those things?_"

The four of them were standing in a line, the two soldiers and Evie were staring at the light, while Amy stood a little off, staring just to the left of it. As they watched, she started manoeuvring herself, evidently trying to face the right direction. Evie placed a hand on her arm, guiding her round.

"_What are you doing?_" Marco questioned her, a bemused look on his face.

"_Point me at the light._"

"_You can't open your eyes._"

"_I can't open them for more than a second, that's what the Doctor said._" Amy told him firmly, recalling the Time Lord's words. "_Still got a bit of countdown left._"

"Two seconds, Amy." Evie confirmed biting her lip. "It's risky."

Marco was alarmed by the prospect; this was evident by the look on his face. "_Ma'am, you can't._ Miss Robinson… can't you talk her out of it?"

"No… as long as she doesn't keep her eyes open too long she should be fine… Amy, you understand that it has to be less than two seconds, yeah?"

Amy nodded. "_I need to see it. Am I looking the right way? I have to be quick._"

"_Very quick!_"

"_OK…_" She opened her eyes, staring at the bright light. Immediately she recognised it. "_It's the same shape! It's the crack in my wall._"

Evie grabbed her arm, anxiously. "Amy! That's enough!"

"_Close your eyes. Now!_" Marco ordered.

She ignored him, keeping them trained on the crack. "_It's following me! How can it be following me?_"

As she slumped to the floor, Marco covered her face with his hand, forcing her eyelids to close. Evie knelt beside her, one arm wrapped around Amy's shoulders as she watched her thoughtfully. The women's eyes had been open for longer than she should have been able to manage. Something had stopped the Angel taking over. And Evie thought that that something was almost definitely the crack and the light pouring from it.


	16. Angels Can Only Kill You

Marco kept his hand firmly over Amy's eyes for a moment or two, until he was sure she would keep them shut on her own. "_Are you OK?_"

"_Yeah. It was the same shape!_" She murmured in a low voice. "Evie… did you recognise it?"

Evie nodded, then realised that Amy couldn't see her. "Yeah… I did."

"_Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?_"

"_Go for it. Don't get too close._"

"Wait!" Evie exclaimed, looking up at the Cleric who was heading off towards the light. "I really don't think you should go."

"_Hang on, what about the other two? Why not just wait 'til they're back?_" Amy agreed. She really didn't like the idea of only three of them being left.

"_What other two?_" Marco asked in confusion, looking between the two girls. Evie furrowed her eyebrows.

"_The ones you sent before._"

"_I didn't send anyone before._"

"_You did. I heard you. Crispin and Phillip._"

"_Crispin and who?_"

Evie shook her head in disbelief. "There were two more Clerics here and you sent them to check out the light. They haven't come back…"

"Miss… I don't know what you mean." Marco said firmly. "There were never any others."

"There were!"

Amy gripped Evie's hand tighter. "Why can't he remember Phillip and Crispin? What's going on?"

"_Amy, there never was a Crispin or a Phillip on this mission, I promise you._" Marco told her, looking directly into her face, even though her eyes were closed. Then he looked at Evie. "Evie… there has only ever been just us."

"_No, I heard you._" Amy argued, her grip on Evie's hand tightening further as she panicked. "_Before you sent Pedro, you sent Crispin and Phillip, and now you can't even remember them. Something happened. I don't know what, and you don't even remember!_"

"_Pedro?_"

"_Yeah, before you sent Pedro._"

Marco glanced between them, totally bewildered now. "_Who's Pedro?_"

"Pedro!" Evie exclaimed, horrified. "You know… the big guy… the one who was here a couple of minutes ago!"

"There never was a Pedro."

"_Something's happening!_" The red-head said, a full scale panic bubbling up inside her now. "_Pedro was here a second ago and now you can't even remember him!_"

"_There never was a Pedro. There's only ever been the three of us here!_"

"_No, there were six of us!_" She argued. "_Why can't you remember?_"

Marco glanced at Evie, as though hoping she would take his side. The young woman was too shocked to speak, trying to work through what was happening in her mind. "_Listen, listen. I need to get a closer look at that light, whatever it is. Don't worry, I won't get too close._"

"_No, you can't. You mustn't._"

"Marco, don't go!" Evie pleaded with him, her eyes darting between the two faces in front of her and the almost blinding light. "First Crispin and Phillip, then Pedro… you can't go as well! Something will happen and you won't come back."

"Listen, I'll be fine." He assured them confidently, pressing a radio into Amy's hands. "_Here, spare communicator.__I'll stay in touch the whole time._"

She shook her head, clutching the device tightly. "_You won't. If you go back there what happened to the others will happen to you!_"

"_There weren't any others!_"

"There were!"

"_There won't be any YOU if you go back there._"

"_Two minutes, I promise._" He said starting to move away towards the light.

"_Please, just listen to me!_"

"Marco, don't!"

But it was no good. Evie couldn't leave Amy alone to follow Marco and persuade him to come back. She held her grandmother tightly, rocking her slightly and trying to keep her calm.

"Hey… we've got the communicator now… let's see if we can get hold of River and the Doctor; get them to hurry up." She suggested brightly, ignoring the scowl that Amy was sending her.

"_Hello, are you there? Hello? Hello?_" Amy tried, almost whispering into the communicator. There was a long silence. "You try!"

No sooner had she pushed the device towards Evie than Marco's voice came through the speakers. "_I'm here. I'm fine. I'm quite close to it now._"

"_Then come back! Come back now, please._"

"Marco… just leave it… come back!"

Evidently he was ignoring them. "_It's weird looking at it. It feels really..._"

"_Really what? Hello? Really what? Hello? Hello? Hello? Please say you're there. Hello? Hello!_" Amy's voice was growing increasingly panicky and Evie pulled the communicator from her hands, gripping one tightly in her own and raising the device to her mouth.

"Hello? Answer!"

After a second came a voice. "_Amy… Amy, is that you?_"

"Doctor? It's Evie."

"_Doctor!_" Amy grabbed for the radio and Evie moved it closer to her so that they could both speak into it.

"_Where are you? Are the Clerics with you?_"

"No."

"_They've gone. There was a light and they walked into the light. Doctor, they didn't even remember each other._" Amy told him.

"_No. They wouldn't._"

"_What is that light?_"

"_Time running out._ _Girls,_ _I'm sorry. I should never have left you there._"

Evie tightened her grip on Amy's hand and felt the older woman do the same in return. She took a couple of deep steadying breaths and looked around nervously. There was no sign of anymore Angels, but that didn't mean that there weren't any lurking in the trees.

"_Well, what do we do now?_"

"_You come to us... Primary Flight Deck… other end of the forest._"

"_I can't see! I can't open my eyes._"

"Evie will have to lead you."

She gave a strangled cry. "I don't know where I'm going!"

"_Turn on the spot._"

"_Sorry, what?_"

"_Just do it. Turn on the spot._" He ordered. Almost reluctantly they did as he said, Evie helping Amy unsteadily to her feet. "_When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You have to start moving now; there's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it._"

"_But the Angels, they're everywhere._"

"_I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you._"

"Fantastic." Evie snapped, turning Amy slightly to avoid her stumbling headlong over a trailing tree root that blocked their path. "That makes it so much less worrying."

"Evie!" River's voice was audible in the background at the other end of the radio. The brunette pulled a face.

"_What does the Time Energy do?_" Amy asked nervously.

"_Just keep moving!_"

"_Tell me!_"

Evie bit her lip, "Doctor, please."

"_If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born.__ I__t will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. Now, keep your eyes shut and keep moving!_" They had stopped, both of them thinking about the Doctor's words. Shaking her head and gathering her determination, Evie placed her hand on Amy's elbow and urged her forwards once more.

"Come on, love." Evie murmured encouragingly as they made slow, but steady, progress through the trees. Even with the brunette helping her, Amy found it difficult to put one foot in front of the other without feeling like she was about to fall on her face. "That's it."

"I feel ridiculous."

Evie grinned. "You look it."

"OI!" Amy smiled as well, managing a small laugh.

"_Right, listen to me. I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just manoeuvre till the beeping stops. This is important; the forest is full of Angels. You're going to have to walk like you can see._ Evie, you're going to have to help her."

"_Well, what do you mean?_" She demanded, screwing up her face in annoyance. Evie pulled her slightly to the right to avoid a large rock protruding from the ground.

"_Look, just keep moving._"

"Easier said than done." Evie snapped as she narrowly stopped Amy sprawling headlong into the dirt.

The device in Amy's hand began making an odd, beeping sound. Evie looked at it in confusion, stopping and prising it from the red-head's fingers. She shook it a couple of times and then bashed it with the heel of her palm, as though she thought that might stop the noise.

"_What's that?_" Amy asked.

"_It's a warning. There are Angels 'round you now._" The Doctor told them. Evie handed the communicator back to Amy and looked around. Sure enough, Angels had appeared around them, as though out of nowhere. She gulped but said nothing so that Amy didn't panic even more. "_Both of you listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know you can do it. The Angels are scared and running and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see. You're not moving. You have to do this. Now! You have to do this!_"

Taking a deep breath, they started forwards. Evie kept her gaze trained on the creatures, not looking away even for a second. Behind her, she could hear the beeping of the device, helping Amy to move around and through the statues. Tightening her grip on Amy's hand, Evie walked slowly, trying not to pull her too quickly.

They had almost made it safely through the group when Amy stumbled. Evie hadn't noticed the raised tree root in the path, but she'd somehow managed to avoid tripping over it. The red-head, however, hadn't been so lucky and sprawled on the ground. Still holding onto Evie's hand, she'd almost pulled the younger girl with her.

"Amy?" Evie cried, unable to look down and see if she was alright. Her eyes darted between the Angels, desperately trying to keep them at bay.

"_Doctor, I can't find the communicator! I dropped it!_" Amy cried, scrabbling for it.

"Evie! Pick it up!"

"I can't look down!" She snapped, keeping her gaze steady on the Angels. One of Amy's hands was wrapped around Evie's ankle, keeping the contact between them even as she scrabbled around on the ground for the radio. "I can't look away!"

"_I can't find it. Doctor!__Doctor...__Doctor! Doctor..._"

Evie felt Amy trying to stand upright, using her legs as a guide. Unable to stop herself, the brunette glanced down and helped her to her feet. When she looked back at the Angels, they were almost upon them. One was reaching out; it's hand a millimetre from Evie's throat. Another had its hand just above her head in a chopping motion.

She screamed.


	17. Get a Grip

A bright flash of light engulfed them and suddenly she found herself in a tight, familiar embrace.

"_Amy, don't open your eyes._" River ordered. "_You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor's here. I teleported you. See?_" She turned to the Doctor and fixed him with a satisfied smile. "_Told you I could get it working._"

"_River Song, I could bloody kiss you!_"

"_Ah well, maybe when you're older._" She agreed with a smirk. Evie rolled her eyes.

"Eurgh?" She muttered, so that only her mother heard. River grinned at her and squeezed her arm tightly. This was the only sign that passed between them which signified the woman's relief that her daughter was alright. Evie just smiled.

"_What's that?_" River demanded, her voice showing signs of panic once more as an alarm sounded in the control room. The lights began flashing again as well.

"_The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release!_"

Sure enough, there was a hydraulic hissing noise and slowly the shield began to rise. River, who was still holding onto Amy tightly, reached out a hand and grasped Evie's, pulling her close and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as well.

Evie gasped, her breath catching in her chest, as the shield rose completely. Tens of Angels were on the other side, their arms raised and their claws and teeth revealed. The Doctor stood at the entrance to the Flight Deck glaring at them.

"_Angel Bob, I presume._" He said angrily.

It was horrific hearing Bob's voice and knowing it was coming from one of the stone statues. "_The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality._"

"_Yeah and look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?_"

"_There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved._"

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do… could do that. But why?_"

"_Your friends would also be saved._"

"_Well, there is that._" The Doctor agreed with a shrug.

Wriggling out of Amy and Evie's embraces, River rushed to the Doctor's side. Her daughter made a grab for the back of her shirt but missed. Instead, she clung onto Amy, gripping her arm tightly. She had a horrible feeling that her mother was about to do something stupid.

River grabbed the Doctor's arm. "_I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space/time event, too. Throw me in._"

"NO!" Evie shouted from behind them, causing River to shoot her a filthy look.

"_Oh, be serious!_" The Doctor scoffed. "_Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip._"

Breathing a sigh of relief that her father didn't know the truth about her mother, Evie relinquished her hold on Amy's arm slightly, realising that she was probably digging her nails in. That would explain the slight hissing noises the red-head was emitting between her clenched teeth and the wince that was twisting her features.

"_Doctor, I can't let you do this._" River told him firmly.

"_No, seriously, get a grip._"

"_You're not going to die here!_"

"_No, I mean it. River, Amy, Evie, get a grip._" He said, meaningfully.

For a split second the young woman wondered what he could possibly mean. Then she realised which words he had repeated three times. She gasped and grinned, manoeuvring Amy to a better position and helping her grab hold of the bars around the consoles.

"_Oh, you genius!_" River gasped, moving to join the girls. She ensured that they were holding on tightly before doing the same herself. She shot a broad grin at her daughter, who beamed back.

"_Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now._"

"_Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels..._"

"_You hold on tight and don't you let go for anything._" River warned firmly, double checking that they were holding on tightly enough.

"_Night-night._"

The gravity alarm sounded and the ship turned. Evie clung onto the bar for dear life, closing her eyes and concentrating with everything she had. The effort of holding on was exhausting, as was the rush of air that accompanied the shift in gravity. It was pulling her downwards, wanting to rip her hands from the bar and send her tumbling downwards. She resisted for as long as she could and, just when she thought she was going to have to let go, everything settled.

The ship righted itself and, although shaken, the four of them were unhurt. When she climbed unsteadily to her feet, Evie saw at once that the crack had closed itself. There was no sign anywhere of the Angels.

"Well… that's that then." River muttered, dusting herself off. She quickly examined Amy to make sure she hadn't been injured any more than they knew about, before doing the same to Evie. She shot her a warm smile, before turning away to speak to the Doctor.

"You OK?" Evie asked Amy, sitting beside her on the console. The red-head nodded and smiled, looking at her happily. "Has the Angel gone?"

"Yeah… I think so…" She answered slowly. "But I think I'll keep my eyes closed… just in case."

Evie laughed and shook her head. She pulled the elastic band out of her hair and let her dark curls spread over her shoulders; for some reason this made her instantly feel more human. The scratchy camouflage outfit, now ripped and covered in mud, was still annoying her but the girl reasoned that she would soon be able to change out of it. Amy was looking at her carefully, through barely opened eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing." The older girl replied with a small shrug, clamping her eyes closed once more.

"No, seriously, what?"

Amy smiled. "I can't imagine you living in a prison cell." Evie chuckled and swung her legs, looking down. "Honestly though, what did you do? How long have you been in prison?"

"A bit of this and that." Evie replied, sneaking at glance at the woman through her hair. "Mainly theft, with a bit of gun-wielding thrown in for good measure. And let's just say that I can't really remember a birthday when I wasn't in prison… I had some, but…"

She gasped. "What? Really?"

"Yep… but is it nature or nurture?"

"Huh?"

Evie grinned. "Is it my fault, or is it down to my parents?"

"Who are your parents?"

There was a slight pause as Evie tilted her head to one side, fixed Amy with an amused stare and smirked. The older girl opened one eye just in time to see her friend shrug. "We'd better get going. River and the Doctor look like they're ready to leave."

She jumped off the console and almost skipped towards her parents, smiling broadly at them. Both looked a little confused at her brightness, but said nothing. The Doctor put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight hug.

"So, Robinson." He said, looking at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Are you joining us on the TARDIS for more adventures?"

Evie smiled. "As much as I'd love to, I have a reward to collect."

"A reward?"

"Oh yeah." The brunette said innocently, widening her eyes and nodding fervently. "You don't think I'd have let River drag me along to help you out otherwise, do you?" Both the Doctor and River started to laugh. The young woman grinned broadly. "Come on then…"

They headed away from the Flight Deck; Evie leading Amy, who was still refusing to open her eyes, by the hand. The atmosphere was so much more relaxed now than it had been. The threat of the Weeping Angels had vanished and without the Clerics around, River and Evie no longer felt as though their every movement was being analysed. They chatted as they went, avoiding delicate subjects as best as they could. River and Evie were masters at deflecting awkward questions and, by the time they had reached the entrance to the Byzantium and clambered down onto the beach once more, the Doctor and Amy were suddenly hit by the realisation that, although the two women had been speaking, they hadn't actually said anything.

"Doctor Song? Miss Robinson?" A Cleric called as soon as they were within hearing distance of the group. Evie was glad that her fake name had obviously been circulated amongst the Clerics and he hadn't given away their secret. "A moment?"

Leaving Amy and the Doctor, who immediately wrapped the young woman in a blanket and proceeded to persuade her to open her eyes, the two women made their way over to the man who had called them. As soon as they stopped in front of him, he drew out two pairs of handcuffs.

"I thought –" Evie started.

"You thought what, Miss Song?" The Cleric asked, dangerously.

Glaring at him, the girl exhaled sharply and held her arms out, allowing him to fix the handcuffs around her wrists. The cold metal made her shiver until it warmed up. Beside her, River was having the same treatment. She shot her daughter a look, the merest shake of her head warning her not to say anything else.

"Right… the transport ship should be here in a few minutes to return you to the Stormcage Containment Facility." The Cleric told them in a business-like tone. "From there, you will face a committee who will take your assistance in this matter into account and decide what your future will be."

He retreated from the women, returning to stand in a huddle with his men, talking quietly. Evie turned to her mother, who smirked slightly and nodded. The young woman couldn't help a broad smile creeping over her face. It sounded as though, very soon, she and her mother would be free.

The sound of footsteps alerted them to the arrival of the Doctor and Evie moved away a little, letting them have some privacy. She watched contentedly as her parents spoke. Once or twice the Time Lord glanced in Evie's direction, as though their conversation included her, although she knew that this was almost certainly not the case. It was more than likely that the Doctor was trying to make impossible connections.

Watching Amy approaching the pair, Evie wandered closer as well. She guessed that it was almost time for the prison ship to beam them up and wanted to say her goodbyes as well.

"_Bye, River._" Amy said, standing close to the woman.

River smiled. "_See you. Amy._"

"Laters, Doctor." Evie said with a grin, attempting to wave and forgetting that her wrists were joined together. She sighed as both her hands rose in the air. "Ames… catch you soon."

"Will you?" Amy asked quickly, reading more into the phrase than the younger girl had intended. "When?"

Thinking quickly, the brunette shrugged, working out timelines in her mind. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not telling you when, though. That's a surprise!" They both laughed.

"_Oh! I think that's our ride._" River said as an alarm on the handcuffs began to go off; beeping gently in a steady rhythm.

"_Can I trust you, River Song?_" The Doctor asked bluntly.

"_If you like._" She agreed, with a little laugh. "_But where's the fun in that?_"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hello sweeties! This is the penultimate chapter! Just one chapter left!**_

_**The next (ninth) longer Evie fic is written and waiting, but I won't be uploading it until next year. I'm on placement for three months at the beginning of the year, so I want to have something to upload for you when I get a second. I'm doing my best to write and store up a load of chapters of Evie's Diary as well... don't say I don't think of you! ;)**_

_**x**_


	18. The Doctor Lies

_**This chapter is dedicated to Emma, aka NaviRebel16, because it's her birthday and I promised! Also, she did a review of my fic on YouTube… which I may already have mentioned… so she has my enteral gratitude! If you haven't already, you should check out her YouTube channel – JuniorFanFicCritic!**_

_**Anyway, here it is… I hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

><p>The two women were beamed up in a swirl of wind, just like Father Octavian and the other Clerics had been deposited on the beach the evening before. From there, they'd sat on hard benches in the prison ship, waiting to be beamed down into Stormcage. Evie kept sending her mother small, meaningful looks, trying to get her to fill her in on what she and the Doctor had discussed. Instead, River returned her glances with small, enigmatic smirks that frustrated her daughter.<p>

"Mum, are you going to tell me or not?" Evie demanded, pouting.

"What?" River asked innocently.

"What you and the Doctor were talking about, Mother? What's going to happen now? Are we getting released?"

River laughed softly. "The Doctor and I were discussing our next meeting, at the opening of the Pandorica."

"I remember it well." Evie smirked.

"You should! It was only a year or so ago!" Her mother laughed. "And as for the other thing… well, we'll see."

"Eurgh! Why do you always say that?"

"Because it's true!"

"So? What next?"

"We go back to Stormcage, of course." River said with a soft smile, shooting a sideways glance at the Clerics who were clearly listening in.

Evie pulled a face, then realised what her mother was trying to tell her. She shrugged. "Fair enough."

The journey seemed to take forever, although it could hardly have been very long at all. Evie was itching to be alone in the cell with her mother and find out the real plan. The Clerics gave them a two minute warning and the women prepared themselves to be beamed down into the prison. The familiar pulsing, rushing sensation started and they found themselves standing in the Stormcage Facility once more.

"Now, Doctor Song, Miss Song." The Cleric who had handcuffed them said briskly. "In the next few days the committee will be in touch to discuss whether or not you have done enough to receive a pardon."

"Thank you." River said, not sounding entirely sincere.

He nodded and, as soon as the women's handcuffs had been removed and they were safely locked in their cell once more, the Clerics vanished in a swirl of wind. River and Evie waited a couple of minutes to ensure they were completely alone.

"So?" Evie demanded, trying desperately to make herself look more presentable. "What are we going to do? Can I have a shower and get changed?"

"When we get back." Her mother told her, hunting around under her bed. She pulled out an old battered tin and retrieved her Vortex Manipulator from inside.

"Back? From where?" The girl sighed, suddenly feeling the exhaustion she'd been pushing back crashing over her in waves. "Where are we going now? I'm knackered! The second I got back from that creepy hotel filled with horrible things, I was off running around a maze full of Weeping Angels! Can't I go to bed first?"

Her mother laughed. "That was your choice. I didn't want you to come, did I?"

"Like I was going to stay behind."

"Yes, well, now you're regretting it."

"So?" The girl asked, annoyed. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to your grandparents'." River said lightly, instantly seeing the scowl drop from her daughter's face. "I thought that would cheer you up! Come here."

Evie left the mirror and moved to stand beside her mother, slipping her arm through River's. The woman set the coordinates on her Vortex Manipulator and pressed the button, sending them spinning through the Vortex. They landed in the back garden of Amy and Rory's house seconds later, and spotted the red-head sitting at the garden table, wrapped in a blanket and staring up at the sky.

"_Heard there was a freak meteor shower two miles away..._" She said, not looking at them. "_So I got us a bottle._"

"_Thank you, dear._" River said, picking up the bottle of white wine and pouring herself a glass.

Evie sat in the seat on her grandmother's other side, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Hi, Gran."

"Hello, sweetie." Amy said, smiling at her weakly before turning her gaze back on the sky once more. "_So where are we?_"

"_We just climbed out of the Byzantium. You were there. So young;__didn't have a clue who I was... _Who either of us were! _You're funny like that. Where are you?_" River asked, taking a sip of her wine. As Evie reached for the bottle to fill her own glass, she arched an eyebrow, causing the brunette to roll her eyes.

"_The Doctor's dead._"

There was a slight pause while all three women took a sip of wine, before River asked, "_How are you doing?_"

"_How do you think?_"

"_Well, I don't know unless you tell me._" Her daughter shrugged.

"_I killed someone._" Amy told her, weakly. "_Madame Kovarian… in cold blood._"

River nodded. "_In an aborted time-line, in a world that never was..._"

"It doesn't matter, Gran." Evie agreed, with a small shrug. "It didn't happen now."

"_Yeah, well, I can remember it, so it happened, so I did it. What does that make me now? I need to talk to the Doctor, but I can't now, can I?_"

Evie and River exchanged a glance. The archaeologist put down her glass of wine and leant forward. Her daughter followed suit, resting an elbow on the table.

"_If you could talk to him, would it make a difference?_"

"_But he's dead, so I can't._" Amy said with a sigh.

River sighed and reached out to take her hand. "_Oh, mother... of course he isn't._"

"_Not for you, I suppose. You're seeing the younger versions of him, running around, having adventures._"

"_Yeah, we are..._" River admitted, smiling and nodding. She let go of Amy's hand and took hold of her glass once more, raising it to her lips. "_But that's not what I mean._"

"_Then what do you mean?_"

Exchanging a glance with her daughter, who smirked and nodded encouragingly, River smiled. "_OK. I'm going to tell you what I probably shouldn't. The Doctor's last secret. Don't you want to know what he whispered in my ear?_"

"_He whispered his name._" Amy looked a little confused. Evie grinned and shook her head.

"_Not his name, no._"

"_Yes, it was. He said it was._"

"_Rule One?_" River asked, arching an eyebrow.

"_The Doctor lies._"

River smiled and shrugged. "_So do I... all the time._"

"She does." Evie agreed, pretending to look disapproving. "It's disgusting… no example to set to a child."

Amy grinned and River rolled her eyes. "_I have to, spoilers. Pretending I don't know you're my mother. Pretending I didn't recognize the space suit in Florida._ And Evie does her fair share of lying as well, don't you, Miss Robinson?"

"_What did he whisper in your ear?_" Amy was eager to hear the truth. A faint flush of excitement appeared in her cheeks and hope sparkled in her eyes.

"_Oh, that man, he's always one step ahead of everyone. Always a plan._"

"_River, what did he tell you?_" Her mother demanded impatiently. "_River!_"

River chuckled. "You remember the Doctor that I shot… the one who died at Lake Silencio, the one we gave a proper burial?"

"Yes?" Amy replied hurriedly, wondering what her daughter was getting at. "What about him?"

"He wasn't THE Doctor. It was a Teselecta. They took his form to prevent him being killed." She explained. Amy stared blankly back for a moment.

"He's not dead, Gran. Dad isn't dead!" Evie exclaimed, grabbing her arm and grinning broadly.

For Evie, none of what they were discussing had happened; she had just heard snippets of information, the important bits. For her mother, shooting the Doctor had happened already, when Evie was a very young child. The young woman had always been told she'd be there, when the time came. One day, someone would come to collect her and take her to where she needed to be. All Evie could do until then was wait.

As the red-head digested the information, there was silence. Then Amy screamed with delight and her daughter and granddaughter started laughing happily. They jumped to their feet, dancing around and hugging each other. Although River and Evie had already known that the Doctor wasn't dead, Amy's excitement and relief was infectious.

"_Hey?_" Rory called, appearing through the back door looking a little bemused.

"Gramps!" Evie exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He returned it, dropping a kiss on the top of her head without thinking about what he was doing, his eyes fixed anxiously on his wife.

As soon as Evie released him, Amy hugged him instead. "He's not dead; the Doctor's not dead!" She informed him happily.

"_Are you sure, River? Are you really, properly sure?_" Rory demanded after a moment, looking at her anxiously.

"_Of course I'm sure._" She replied, as though it was a stupid question. "_I'm his wife!_"

"And I'm his daughter!" Evie reminded them joyfully.

"_Yes! And I'm his... mother-in-law._" Amy murmured, her smile dropping instantly from her face as she said it. She looked horrified at the realisation.

Evie started laughing so hard that she had to sit down quickly before she fell over. Amy looked at her, pulling a face of complete disgust. Rory looked a little bewildered, but River smirked.

"_Father dear, I think Mummy might need another drink._" River said, laughing at the situation. Then a thoughtful look crossed her face and she looked between her mother and her daughter. "Oh, I almost forgot. What's all this about you suddenly having a middle name? Evie Jessica Song? Whose idea was that?"

Evie and Amy looked at each other for a moment, before they both looked quickly down at the surface of the wooden table and took a long gulp of wine.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: And that's it for **__Angels, Soldiers, Criminals__**! The next part of the story, **__Alternatives__**, will be up some time in the New Year and the last part, **__Faces__**, will be up not long after. Hopefully!**_

_**I really hope you enjoyed it and want to thank you all so SO much for reading and reviewing and subscribing and favouriting! It really means a lot! :)**_


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